Detection of Enterotoxin Genes in Bacillus species Isolated from Cassava Processing Environment in Nigeria.

Introduction: The health challenges associated with cassava products as a common staple food for approximately 70% of Africans and part of Asia pose a looming danger due to Bacillus enterotoxins’ presence in the processing environment. Objective: This study investigated the presence of enterotoxigenic genes namely, Bacillus cereus enterotoxin T (bceT), hemolysin bl (hblC, hblD) and non-haemolytic enterotoxin (nheA, nheB and nheC) from Bacillus species isolated from soil of cassava processing environment. Methods: Soil samples from 20 cassava processing sites in Ile-Ife and Modakeke, Nigeria were collected and cultured on Nutrient agar at 37 ºC for 24 hours. Colonies phenotypically identified as Bacillus were identified using Bacillus-specific 16S rRNA-targeted PCR technique. Screened Bacillus spp were assessed for the presence of enterotoxigenic genes using PCR with previously reported primers. Results: A total of 100 Bacillus isolates were selected from this study with Bacillus macerans (33 %) showing the highest frequency of occurrence among the identified species, however, 74 isolates were molecularly confirmed as Bacillus. Amongst the 74 molecularly confirmed Bacillus isolates, 28 (37.84%), 35 (47.30 %) and 37 (50 %) has nhe, hbl and bceT genes respectively. Investigation showed that 42 (56.76 %) of the Bacillus species encoded at least one of the screened enterotoxin genes. Conclusion: The presence of these 3 sets of enterotoxin genes in Bacillus isolated from cassava processing sites calls for immediate attention as they could be pivotal in the release of toxins in cassava products, cause lethal effects via consumption. This study demonstrates the possibility of foodborne disease outbreaks in Bacillus toxin-laden cassava products processed under unhygienic conditions.

Deteksi Bakteri Gram Negatif pada Street Foods di Daerah Sekitar Jalan Karang Menjangan, Surabaya

Street foods yang dikonsumsi tanpa memperhatikan tingkat kebersihan dan kematangannya akan mengakibatkan foodborne disease. Walaupun dimasak hingga matang, ada beberapa bakteri yang dapat bertahan dalam suhu ekstrem. Beberapa bakteri yang memiliki ketahanan pada suhu ekstrem termasuk dalam bakteri gram negatif. Penelitian ini memiliki tujuan untuk menemukan bakteri gram negatif pada street foods di daerah sekitar Jalan Karang Menjangan, Surabaya. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian eksperimental yang meggunakan beberapa tahap pengujian, yaitu isolasi dengan medium Salmonella-Shigella dan MacConkey serta pewarnaan gram. Hasil dari penelitian ini ditemukan kontaminasi bakteri gram negatif pada 5 dari 15 sampel (33%) street foods di daerah sekitar Jalan Karang Menjangan, Surabaya. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah ditermukannya kontaminasi bakteri gram negatif pada street foods ditemukan pada makanan yang dimasak maupun tidak dimasak. Penjual makanan dihimbau agar lebih memperhatikan tingkat kebersihan selama proses penyimpanan bahan, pengolahan, dan penyajian dikarenakan adanya bakteri yang dapat bertahan hidup walaupun bahan makanan sudah dimasak hingga matang.

Uji Aktivitas Bakteri Salmonella Thypii pada Sayuran Lalapan Kemangi (Ocimum Sanctum L) Secara In Vitro

Keamanan pangan menjadi salah satu masalah kesehatan yang perlu diperhatikan karena konsumsi pangan yang tercemar oleh mikroorganisme atau bahan kimia yang dapat menyebabkan suatu penyakit yang disebut foodborne disease. Daun kemangi mampu menghambat pertumbuhan bakteri salah satunya Salmonella typhii. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui ada atau tidaknya bakteri Salmonella typhii pada sayuran lalapan kemangi (Ocimum sanctum L) menggunakan pengujian Biokimia. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di Laboratorium Mikrobiologi Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Hasanuddin Makassar. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian adalah rancangan eksperimental dengan teknik probability sampling berjumlah 10 sampel pada 10 lokasi berbeda di pasar Kota Makassar, dilakukan dengan identifikasi bakteri menggunakan medium selektif, kemudian isolasi bakteri dengan medium SSA dan medium NA, kemudian dilakukan uji Biokimia kemudian dilakukan pewarnaan gram. Sampel yang teridentifikasi bakteri Salmonella typhii dilakukan uji daya hambat dengan medium MHA dan antibiotik, selanjutnya dilakukan pengukuran zona hambat yang terbentuk dengan menggunakan jangka sorong. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dari 10 sampel dengan kode S1-S10, didapatkan pada sampel S1 terdapat bakteri Salmonella typhii. Kesimpulan bahwa terdapat bakteri Salmonella typhii pada sayuran lalapan kemangi yang diambil di pasar Kota Makassar.

Effects of Governmental Intervention on Foodborne Disease Events: Evidence from China

Foodborne disease events (FDEs) endanger residents’ health around the world, including China. Most countries have formulated food safety regulation policies, but the effects of governmental intervention (GI) on FDEs are still unclear. So, this paper purposes to explore the effects of GI on FDEs by using Chinese provincial panel data from 2011 to 2019. The results show that: (i) GI has a significant negative impact on FDEs. Ceteris paribus, FDEs decreased by 1.3% when government expenditure on FDEs increased by 1%. (ii) By strengthening food safety standards and guiding enterprises to offer safer food, government can further improve FDEs. (iii) However, GI has a strong negative externality. Although GI alleviates FDEs in local areas, it aggravates FDEs in other areas. (iv) Compared with the eastern and coastal areas, the effects of GI on FDEs in the central, western, and inland areas are more significant. GI is conducive to ensuring Chinese health and equity. Policymakers should pay attention to two tasks in food safety regulation. Firstly, they should continue to strengthen GI in food safety issues, enhance food safety certification, and strive to ensure food safety. Secondly, they should reinforce the co-governance of regional food safety issues and reduce the negative externality of GI.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 Resistan Antibiotik Pada Daging Kebab yang Dijual di Sekitar Kampus IPB Dramaga Bogor

Kebab merupakan salah satu makanan siap saji atau ready to eat (RTE) yang populer di seluruh dunia. Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 banyak dihubungkan dengan kejadian outbreak foodborne disease pada kebab. Kontaminasi E. coli O157:H7 resistan antibiotik pada kebab dapat menimbulkan masalah kesehatan serius. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengidentifikasi E. coli O157:H7 resistan antibiotik yang diisolasi dari daging kebab yang dijual di sekitar Kampus IPB Dramaga Bogor. Total 43 sampel daging kebab diambil dari seluruh pedagang kebab di sekitar Kampus IPB Dramaga dalam radius 2 km dari batas terluar Kampus. Isolasi dan identifikasi E. coli mengacu pada Standar Nasional Indonesia (SNI) 2897:2008 dari Badan Standardisasi Nasional tentang Metode Pengujian Cemaran Mikroba dalam Daging, Telur, dan Susu, serta Hasil Olahannya. Uji serotyping E. coli O157:H7 menggunakan uji Serologis. Uji resistansi E. coli O157:H7 mengacu pada standar Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) dan dilakukan terhadap 10 jenis antibiotik menggunakan metode Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis secara deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan enam isolat positif E. coli O157:H7 (31.6%; 6/19) yang resistan terhadap ampisilin, amoksisilin-asam klavulanat, sefotaksim, gentamisin, siprofloksasin, enrofloksasin, kolistin sulfat dengan satu isolat termasuk multidrug resistant (MDR). Semua isolat E. coli O157:H7 masih sensitif terhadap trimethoprim-sulfametoksasol, oksitetrasiklin, dan kloramfenikol.

A systematic review on mobile health applications for foodborne disease outbreak management

Background Foodborne disease outbreaks are common and notifiable in South Africa; however, they are rarely reported and poorly investigated. Surveillance data from the notification system is suboptimal and limited, and does not provide adequate information to guide public health action and inform policy. We performed a systematic review of published literature to identify mobile application-based outbreak response systems for managing foodborne disease outbreaks and to determine the elements that the system requires to generate foodborne disease data needed for public action. Methods Studies were identified through literature searches using online databases on PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Greenfile, Library, Information Science & Technology. Search was limited to studies published in English during the period January 1990 to November 2020. Search strategy included various terms in varying combinations with Boolean phrases “OR” and “AND”. Data were collected following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement. A standardised data collection tool was used to extract and summarise information from identified studies. We assessed qualities of mobile applications by looking at the operating system, system type, basic features and functionalities they offer for foodborne disease outbreak management. Results Five hundred and twenty-eight (528) publications were identified, of which 48 were duplicates. Of the remaining 480 studies, 2.9% (14/480) were assessed for eligibility. Only one of the 14 studies met the inclusion criteria and reported on one mobile health application named MyMAFI (My Mobile Apps for Field Investigation). There was lack of detailed information on the application characteristics. However, based on minimal information available, MyMAFI demonstrated the ability to generate line lists, reports and offered functionalities for outbreak verification and epidemiological investigation. Availability of other key components such as environmental and laboratory investigations were unknown. Conclusions There is limited use of mobile applications on management of foodborne disease outbreaks. Efforts should be made to set up systems and develop applications that can improve data collection and quality of foodborne disease outbreak investigations.

Capsular Genotype and Lipooligosaccharide Class Associated Genomic Characterizations of Campylobacter jejuni Isolates From Food Animals in China

Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) is the leading causative agent of gastroenteritis and Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS). Capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and lipooligosaccharide (LOS) contribute to the susceptibility of campylobacteriosis, which have been concern the major evaluation indicators of C. jejuni isolates from clinical patients. As a foodborne disease, food animal plays a primary role in the infection of campylobacteriosis. To assess the pathogenic characterizations of C. jejuni isolates from various ecological origins, 1609 isolates sampled from 2005 to 2019 in China were analyzed using capsular genotyping. Strains from cattle and poultry were further characterized by LOS classification and multilocus sequence typing (MLST), compared with the isolates from human patients worldwide with enteritis and GBS. Results showed that the disease associated capsular genotypes and LOS classes over-represented in human isolates were also dominant in animal isolates, especially cattle isolates. Based on the same disease associated capsular genotype, more LOS class types were represented by food animal isolates than human disease isolates. Importantly, high-risk lineages CC-22, CC-464, and CC-21 were found dominated in human isolates with GBS worldwide, which were also represented in the food animal isolates with disease associated capsular types, suggesting a possibility of clonal spread of isolates across different regions and hosts. This is the first study providing genetic evidence for food animal isolates of particular capsular genotypes harbor similar pathogenic characteristics to human clinical isolates. Collective efforts for campylobacteriosis hazard control need to be focused on the zoonotic pathogenicity of animal isolates, along the food chain “from farm to table.”

Prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in beef at a commercial slaughterhouse in Moro, Kwara State, Nigeria

Background. Gastroenteritis due to foodborne disease is a leading cause of death in developing countries. In Nigeria, there is an increasing demand for beef. Yet, there is no surveillance for Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination of raw beef and little is known about the carriage of this pathogen in Nigeria’s livestock. Methods. A total of 415 samples, including 180 cow carcass swabs, 180 caecal content samples, 16 water samples, 25 hand swabs and 14 knife swabs were collected at a large abattoir in the Moro region of Kwara State, Nigeria. The samples were enriched in modified tryptone broth containing novobiocine, and plated onto Sorbitol–MacConkey agar (Oxoid SR0172E) supplemented with 0.05 mg l−1 cefixime and 2.5 mg l−1 potassium tellurite (Oxoid) (CT-SMAC). Indole-producing isolates were confirmed serologically by serotyping with antisera specific for the O157 and H7 antigens. The E. coli O157:H7 isolates were further tested for their susceptibility to antibiotic agents using the disc diffusion method. Commercially available Gram-negative multi-discs (Oxoid) comprising nitrofurantoin (30 µg), ampicillin (5 µg), ceftazidime (30 µg), gentamicin (10 µg), ciprofloxacin (5 µg), augmentin (30 µg), ofloxacin (5 µg) and cefuroxime (30 µg) were tested. Results. Overall, 16 (3.9 %) samples were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, of which 10 (5.6 %) were isolated from carcass swabs, 4 (2.2 %) from caecal content samples and 2 (12.5 %) from water. All isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR), with resistance to ampicillin, ceftazidime and cefuroxime being the most common. Conclusion. This study provides evidence to suggest that E. coli O157:H7 exists in the beef production chain. The pathogen reveals a high frequency of multidrug resistance, suggesting that consumers and handlers of such meat are at risk of contracting antibiotic-resistant E. coli O157:H7-associated foodborne disease. Routine monitoring of antibiotic resistance is critical to uncovering novel therapeutic strategies that will help inform clinical practice guidelines.

Prioritising Foodborne Disease with Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

In recent years, the FSA has published a series of research projects which have produced estimates of the frequency and burden of thirteen different foodborne diseases. This document outlines the methodology and results of a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) used to rank them in order of their detrimental effect on UK society.