Microbiological evaluation of meat sold in butcheries shop of Cheleleka town in anchar woreda, West Harerge, Oromia, Ethiopia Western Ethiopia

Food borne infections and disease are a main international health problem with consequent economic loss and deaths. Meat is considered the most vital source of proteins consumed by humans, so far, most perishable. For highly consumable foodstuffs such as fresh red meat, the hazard of food poisoning is mainly high since it contains all the nutrients that support bacterial growth. The objective of the study was evaluated bacteriological meat quality sold in shops of Cheleleka town in west harerge zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia. Samples of kitfo and gored-gored were collected from five different meat shops. The microbial quality of raw meat sold in five most popular meat shops in the of Cheleleka Town was determined to ascertain its safety. The meat samples were taken from Genet, Wondu, Ayichuluhum, Alemayehu, and Kamil shops. A total of 10 raw meat samples were collected in two successive visits. Raw samples from Ayichuluhum had the highest mean total aerobic bacterial count of 3.3 × 106 cfu/g for kitfo and 2.8 x 106 cfu/g for gored-gored. The lowest counts were obtained from Genet (7.8 × 105 cfu/g and 7 x 105 cfu/g) for Kitifo and Gored-gored were recorded respectively. The highest mean fecal counts (2.0 × 106 cfu/g for kitfo and 1.7 × 106 cfu/g for gored-gored) were obtained also from Ayichuluhum shop. From Genet shop was seen the lowest fecal coliform bacterial counts of 4.3 × 105 cfu/g for Kitifo and 4 × 105 cfu/g for gored-gored. Bacterial species isolated from the samples were mostly Gram-positive rods and Gram-positive spherical bacteria in clumps. Some Gram-negative rods were also seen some of which may be fecal coliforms. The high bacteria count and diversity of bacterial isolates from the samples tested is an indication of its low bacteriological quality, and this can make it a potential source of food infection.

Bacteriophage Encapsulation in pH-Responsive Core-Shell Capsules as an Animal Feed Additive

Increasing antibiotic resistance in bacteria that cause zoonotic infections is a major problem for farmers rearing animals for food as well as for consumers who eat the contaminated meat resulting in food-borne infections. Bacteriophages incorporated in animal feed may help reduce carriage and infections in animals including chickens and pigs. There are, however, unmet challenges in protecting phages from processing stresses e.g., during animal feed pelleting operations and during transit of phages through the acidic gastric environment. Core-shell capsules were produced using a concentric nozzle and commercially available encapsulation equipment to fabricate capsules with phages formulated in an oil-in-water microemulsion in the core. pH-responsive capsules released the encapsulated phage cargo within 10–30 min triggered by changes in local environmental pH typically found in the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract of animals. Acid stability of phages exposed to pH values as low as pH 1 was demonstrated. Encapsulated phages were able to withstand exposure to 95 °C wet heat thermal stress for up to 120 s, conditions typically encountered during feed pellet extrusion processing. Free phages were inactivated within 15 s under these conditions. The present study demonstrates that encapsulation of bacteriophages in core-shell pH-responsive capsules with water-in-oil emulsified phages in the core significantly improves phage viability upon exposure to processing and environmental stresses that require consideration during production of animal feed and application in animals for biocontrol. The results from this study should help guide future development of phage formulations suitable for use in animal feed for animal biocontrol applications.

Covid-19 and food security: Jeopardy management and posterity deliberations

COVID-19, also known as the ‘novel coronavirus disease 2019’, is a respiratory illness and the causative pathogen is officially named as ‘SARS-CoV-2’. Infections with SARS-CoV-2 have now been amplified to a global pandemic – as of April 3, 2020, nearly 1,018,000 cases have been confirmed in more than 195 countries, including more than 300,000 cases within the United States. Public safety guidelines are followed worldwide to stop the spread of COVID-19 and stay healthy. Despite COVID-19 is a respiratory illness with mode of invasion through the respiratory tract, not the gastrointestinal tract, an average food consumer is anxious and concerned about the food safety. Could an individual catch the deadly contagious COVID-19 from groceries brought home from the supermarket – or from the next restaurant takeout order? This brief review elucidates the epidemiology and pathobiological mechanism(s) of SARS-CoV-2 and its implications in food-borne infections, transmission via food surfaces, food processing and food handling.

Skewness in the literature on infectious livestock diseases in an emerging economy – the case of Vietnam

Livestock production has increased in many emerging economies, but productivity is often substantially impaired by infectious diseases. The first step towards improved livestock health and productivity is to map the presence of livestock diseases. The objective of this review was to summarize studies conducted on such diseases in an emerging economy, Vietnam, and thereby identifying knowledge gaps that may inform the design of surveillance and control programs. Few studies were found to evaluate the distribution of infectious livestock diseases other than avian influenza. Also, many regions with dense livestock populations had received little attention in terms of disease investigation. A large proportion of the studies dealt with zoonoses and food-borne infections which might be due to funding agencies priorities. On the contrary, studies targeting infections that affect livestock and their productivity were few. We think that this limitation in scientific reports on infectious diseases that only affect livestock productivity is a common phenomenon in low and lower middle income countries. More science-based data on such diseases would help policymakers to prioritize which livestock diseases should be subject to animal health programs aimed to support rural livelihoods and economic development.

Bacteria Associated With Commercially Prepared Mealie Meal From Selected Food Stores in Lusaka District of Zambia

Introduction:Mealie meal is a staple diet in the Lusaka district of Zambia. Bacteria associated with commercially prepared mealie meal could be spoilage or pathogenic bacteria. Thus bacterial contamination could result from packaged maize flours purchased from food stores.Material and Methods:A cross-sectional study was carried out from December 2019 - March 2020 for spoilage and pathogenic bacteria associated with mealie meals bought from a selected retail outlet in the Lusaka district. We performed cell culture for the Mealie Meal Samples collected at five study zones in Lusaka district viz: South, Central, East, West, and North. Food stores in each zone were further stratified into sampling units of interest: mall, shop, and street food vendor. Results: Preliminary laboratory findings revealed the following: Spoilage Bacteria - Candida Species, Clostridium Species, and Bacillus Species; Pathogenic Bacteria Species-Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium tetani, Bacillus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Yersinia pestis.Conclusion:In conclusion, it can be established from the aforementioned laboratory results that food-borne infections could evolve from bacteria associated with commercially prepared mealie meals bought from food stores in the Lusaka district of Zambia.

Exotic dried fruits caused Salmonella Agbeni outbreak with severe clinical presentation, Norway, December 2018 to March 2019

We describe an outbreak of Salmonella Agbeni sequence type (ST)2009 infections in Norway. Between 31 December 2018 and 16 March 2019, 56 cases (33 female and 23 male; median age: 50 years, range: 2–91) were reported, of which 21 were hospitalised. Cases were defined as people living in Norway, with laboratory-confirmed infection with S. Agbeni ST2009 and cluster type (CT)2489, reported between 31 December 2018 and 30 March 2019. We conducted a case–control study, with three controls per case (matched by age, sex and municipality), using the Norwegian National Registry. Cases were more likely to have consumed a commercial mix of dried exotic fruits than controls (cases = 8, controls = 31; odds ratio: 50; 95% confidence interval: 3–2,437). The outbreak strain was confirmed by whole genome sequencing (WGS) and was isolated from the fruit mix consumed by cases, resulting in withdrawal from the market on 6 March 2019.The fruit mix consisted of fruits from different countries and continents. It was packed in Italy and distributed to several European countries, including Norway. However, no other countries reported cases. This outbreak highlights that dried fruits could represent a risk in terms of food-borne infections, which is of particular concern in ready-to-eat products.

Antibiotic Resistance and Biofilm-Forming Ability in Enterococcal Isolates from Red Meat and Poultry Preparations

This study investigated the resistance to antibiotics and the capacity to form a biofilm of 200 isolates of enterococci isolated from raw preparations of beef (51 strains), pork (47), chicken (50), and turkey (52) acquired in north-western Spain. Fifteen antimicrobials of clinical importance were tested by the disc diffusion method. The average number of resistances per strain was 4.48 ± 1.59. If resistant strains were taken together with those showing reduced susceptibility, the total number of resistances per strain was 6.97 ± 2.02. Two isolates (1.0% of strains) were resistant to a single antibiotic, twenty-two isolates (11.0%) presented resistance to two, one strain (0.5%) was resistant to three, and 175 isolates (87.5%) showed a multiple drug-resistant phenotype (MDR; defined as no susceptibility to at least one agent from each of three or more antimicrobial categories). The prevalence of resistance varied between 0.5% (gentamicin) and 100% (kanamycin). All strains produced biofilm on polystyrene microwell plates, determined using crystal violet assay. Isolates were classified as having a weak (51 strains; average optical density at 580 nanometers -OD580- = 0.206 ± 0.033), moderate (78 strains; average OD580 = 0.374 ± 0.068), or strong (71 strains; average OD580 = 1.167 ± 0.621) ability to produce biofilm (p < 0.05). Isolates from beef preparations produced the most substantial (p < 0.05) biofilms. The results of this study indicate that meat and poultry preparations are major reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant enterococcal strains capable of forming a biofilm. In order for food-borne infections to be prevented, the importance of careful handling of these foodstuffs during preparation, avoiding cross-contamination, and ensuring thorough cooking, is stressed.

Antibiofilm and Enzyme Inhibitory Potentials of Two Annonaceous Food Spices, African Pepper (Xylopia aethiopica) and African Nutmeg (Monodora myristica)

Food pathogens represent an important health threat, and it is relevant to study the effect of foodstuffs such as spices which can inhibit bacterial growth. This study reports the antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and enzyme (Acetylcholinesterase, Butyrylcholinesterase, urease, tyrosinase) inhibitory activities of two medicinal food spices belonging to the Annonaceae family, Monodora myristica and Xylopia aethiopica. GC-MS (gas chromatography mass spectrometry) analysis of silylated samples of Methanol-Dicloromethane (50:50) extracts of both plants led to the identification of nine compounds in M. myristica and seven compounds in X. aethiopica. M. myristica and X. aethiopica had the same minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 0.625 mg/mL and 2.5 mg/mL on C. albicans and E. coli, respectively. However, M. myristica had better activity than X. aethiopica on Staphylococcus aureus, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa was more susceptible to X. aethiopica than M. myristica. The lowest MIC value was 0.1325 mg/mL, exhibited by M. myristica on S. aureus. Both extracts showed good antibiofilm activity. On S. aureus, at the same concentration, M. myristica had better antibiofilm activity than X. aethiopica. On E. coli and Candida albicans, X. aethiopica had better antibiofilm activity than M. myristica at the same concentration. X. aethiopica showed better violacein inhibition in Chromobacterium violaceum CV12472, as its percentage inhibition of violacein varied from 80.5% ± 3.0% at MIC to 5.6 ± 0.2 at MIC/8, as compared to M. myristica with 75.1% ± 2.5% at MIC and 15.5% ± 1.1% at MIC/8. The anti-motility activity by swimming and swarming inhibition on P. aeruginosa PA01 was low at test concentrations and in both models, M. myristica showed higher motility inhibition than X. aethiopica. Although in enzyme inhibitory assays all extracts had low inhibitions compared to standards tested at the same concentrations, the results show that these plants can be used to manage food-borne infections.

Isolation, Identification and Resistance of Salmonella spp. in Eggs for Human Consumption

Aim: The present investigation aims to construct a comparative analysis based on isolation, identification and observation of resistance of Salmonella spp. in eggs for human consumption. Study Design: This is an experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: The present study was conducted in the Microbiology laboratory of Department Microbiology, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata (West Bengal, India), from January to March, 2020. Methodology: In this study, a total of 48 poultry (chicken) eggs from local and super markets (24 samples from each market) were examined to study the diversity of microorganisms in eggshell surface as well as in the internal contents with the specific objective to isolate Salmonella spp. and to study their resistance against a range of antibiotics- Cefotaxime (30 mcg), Levofloxacin (5 mcg), Aztreonam (30 mcg), Imipenem (10 mcg), Amikacin (30 mcg) and Ceftazidime (30 mcg). Results: Microscopic and biochemical observations revealed the presence of Salmonella spp. in 68% egg samples. About 22% of the identified Salmonella spp. cultures were resistant to the antibiotics used in the study. Further, the total and the outer membrane proteins of specific isolated Salmonella spp. were isolated, few of which exhibit antibiotic resistance. More than 50% of the cultures exhibited biofilm formation which is a clear indication of the potential risk that it may pose after egg consumption. A 33 kDa and a 36 kDa protein was isolated from the resistant cultures and analysed by SDS-PAGE that could serve as promising vaccine development agents and the level of toxicity was checked on Human Cheek Cells (HCCs), of which 15% caused morphological distortions in the cells. Conclusion: The study was conducted to isolate, identify and observe the antibiotic resistance pattern of Salmonella spp. from eggs obtained from local and supermarkets. The study clearly indicates the prevalence of antibiotic resistant Salmonella spp. contamination in eggs that may be detrimental for human consumption. Thus, appropriate measures should be adopted by vendors and poultry farm workers to ensure supply of egg samples suitable for human consumption. From the research and development point of view, the results hold a promising prospect to develop potential therapeutics and vaccine candidates against selected Salmonella spp. to reduce the incidence of food-borne infections in humans.

Social distancing to combat COVID-19 led to a marked decrease in food-borne infections and sexually transmitted diseases in Spain

Data from a recent epidemiological surveillance network showed a decrease in the reported number of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and food-borne infections. We reflect on the possible drivers and consequences of a decrease in these transmittable infectious diseases linked to human contact in relation to social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Madrid (Spain).