Antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolates from fresh produce and the impact to food safety

Foodborne diseases associated with fresh produce consumption have escalated worldwide, causing microbial safety of produce of critical importance. Bacteria that have increasingly been detected in fresh produce are Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., both of which have been shown to progressively display antimicrobial resistance. The study focused on the assessment of antimicrobial resistance of these enteric bacteria from different kinds of fresh produce from various open air markets and supermarkets in the Philippines. Using the disk diffusion assay on a total of 50 bacterial isolates obtained from 410 fresh produce surveyed, monoresistance to tetracycline was observed to be the most prevalent (38%), followed by multidrug resistance to tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, and nalidixic acid (4%), and lastly by dual resistance to tetracycline and chloramphenicol (2%). Using multiplex and simplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, tetA (75%) and tetB (9%) were found in tetracycline resistant isolates, whereas catI (67%) and catIII (33%) were detected in chloramphenicol resistant isolates. Sequence analysis of gyr and par genes from the ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid resistant isolates revealed different mutations. Based on the results, fresh produce act as a reservoir of these antibiotic resistant bacteria which may pose health threat to consumers.     

Genotoxicity of vegetables irrigated by industrial wastewater

IntroductionPollution of natural waters with waste effluentsarising from various industries has become a seriousproblem in India.In Rajasthan particularly,textilemills represent an important economic sector.Effluents from these textile and other dye-relat…     

天然及甲酸改性沸石对沙门氏菌K533吸附作用的影响

采用甲酸对天然沸石改性,通过测定其比表面积和XRD图谱评定其结构变化;并在不同浓度的K+、Cu2+、HPO42-存在条件下,比较了天然沸石及改性加工后对沙门氏菌K533的吸附性能.结果表明:天然沸石经甲酸改性后,BET比表面积增加;由XRD图谱可见,改性沸石表面杂质减少;在离子浓度相同的条件下,改性沸石对沙门氏菌K533的吸附量极显著高于天然沸石(P<0.01),且在一定离子浓度范围内,天然沸石、改性沸石的吸附量随离子浓度的增加而增大.综上所述,甲酸改性沸石对沙门氏菌K533的吸附性能优于天然沸石.     

污泥厌氧消化和后续处理中沙门氏菌杀灭及VBNC发生

应用最大或然数(MPN)培养法和反转录定量PCR(RT-qPCR)技术研究了4种污泥厌氧消化方式以及后续处理过程中沙门氏菌杀灭及有活性但不可培养(VBNC)状态的发生情况.中温厌氧消化(MAD)和高温预处理后中温消化(65℃+MAD)的沙门氏菌分别减少了2.8和5.6个数量级;高温厌氧消化(TAD)和高温-中温两相厌氧消化(TPAD)的沙门氏菌含量均低于检测限.沙门氏菌的杀灭速率常数排序为65℃+MAD>TAD>TPAD> MAD.结果显示高温对病原菌的灭活效果显著增加,高温短时预处理使得杀灭速率明显加快.TAD和TPAD的污泥VBNC沙门氏菌数量高于MAD和65℃+MAD 2个数量级,表明长时间的高温厌氧消化易导致沙门氏菌进入VBNC状态.消化污泥经过离心脱水后会出现沙门氏菌数量增加的现象,MAD、65℃+MAD、TAD和TPAD的消化污泥中沙门氏菌分别增加了1.1、2.4、3.7和2.5个数量级.但其中VBNC状态的沙门氏菌数量明显降低了1~3个数量级,表明消化后污泥中部分VBNC沙门氏菌在离心脱水过程中复活并生长,使得MPN检测得到的可培养沙门氏菌数量增加,初步解释了消化污泥经离心脱水后的病原菌再生长现象.消化污泥中沙门氏菌数量在室温放置过程中会进一步下降.     

Antibacterial and antimutagenic activitiy of extracts and essential oil from (Tunisian) Pistacia lentiscus

Aqueous and flavonoid-enriched extract as well as essential oil (EO) obtained from leaves of Pistacia lentiscus were assessed for antibacterial and antimutagenic activities. Antibacterial activity of different extracts and EO were evaluated against six bacterial strains. A marked inhibitory effect was observed against Salmonella typhimurium, whereas lower activity was observed against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella enteritidis. EO showed significant inhibitory effects against Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis and Staphylococcus aureus. The antimutagenic activity of the different extracts against Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and sodium azide was demonstrated with the Salmonella typhymurium assay. The number of revertants per plate decreased significantly when the plant extracts were added to the assay system using Salmonella typhimurium TA100, TA98 and TA1535.     

一株好氧反硝化菌的鉴定及反硝化特性研究

从湖北某纺织厂废水生化处理池中分离得到1株好氧反硝化细菌HS-N2,并对其反硝化能力进行了研究。结果表明,HS-N2在能有效去除培养基中的硝酸盐氮。在好氧条件下,30℃培养24h,能将10mmol/L硝酸盐氮去除95%以上;在兼性厌氧条件下,24h的脱氮率达到85%。研究了该菌株的好氧反硝化特性。结果表明:其反硝化最适温度和pH分别为30℃和7.0。设计特异性引物,扩增HS-N2菌株的16SrDNA并测序,运用Blast比对构建了进化树,发现该菌与肠炎沙门氏菌(Salmonella enteritidis)的同源性高达100%。结合形态观察和生理生化鉴定,初步鉴定该菌属于沙门氏菌属(Salmonella),命名为Salmonella sp.HS-N2。目前关于沙门氏菌属具有反硝化能力的菌株鲜有报道。     

Sodium bisulfate and a sodium bisulfate/tannin mixture decreases pH when added to an in vitro incubated poultry cecal or fecal contents while reducing Salmonella Typhimurium marker strain survival and altering the microbiome

The objective of the present study was to investigate the ability of animal feed-grade sodium bisulfate (SBS) and a mixture of sodium bisulfate/tannin to inhibit the growth of Salmonella using an anerobic in vitro mixed cecal culture to mimic the conditions within the chicken cecum. An initial inoculum of Salmonella Typhimurium was introduced to an anerobic dilution solution containing 1/3000 diluted cecal bacteria and solids consisting of ground chicken feed and different percentages of solid SBS or SBS/tannin, and surviving organisms were enumerated. Two different experimental designs were employed. In the “unadapted” treatment, the S. Typhimurium was added at the beginning of the culture incubation along with cecal bacteria and chicken feed/SBS or chicken feed/SBS/tannin. In the “adapted” treatment, S. Typhimurium was added after a 24 hour pre-incubation of the cecal bacteria with the chicken feed/SBS or chicken feed/SBS/tannin. Adding SBS resulted in reduction of pH in the cultures which paralleled with the reduction of S. Typhimurium. The SBS alone was found to be inhibitory to S. Typhimurium in the adapted treatment at all concentrations tested (0.25, 0.5, and 0.75%), and the degree of inhibition was concentration-dependent. Salmonella Typhimurium was completely killed in the adapted culture with 0.5% SBS after 24 and 48 h. The SBS/tannin mixture was less inhibitory than SBS alone at the same concentrations in side-by-side comparisons. Testing at a 0.5% SBS concentration, chicken age had little or no effect on log reduction of S. Typhimurium relative to age-matched control cultures without SBS, but age did affect the absolute number of S. Typhimurium surviving, with the greatest decreases occurring at 2 and 4 weeks of age (approx. 10³ S. Typhimurium surviving) compared to 6 weeks of age (approx. 10⁵ Salmonella surviving). Microbiome analysis with an Illumina MiSeq platform was conducted to investigate bacterial compositional changes related to the addition of SBS. The relative abundance of Firmicutes (at the phylum level) was decreased, and genera Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium were increased when SBS was added to the anaerobic mixed culture containing either fecal or cecal material. The antimicrobial action of feed-grade SBS may represent a potential pre-harvest control measure for Salmonella in poultry production.     

Thermal treatment for pathogen inactivation as a risk mitigation strategy for safe recycling of organic waste in agriculture

Thermal treatment at temperatures between 46.0°C and 55.0°C was evaluated as a method for sanitization of organic waste, a temperature interval less commonly investigated but important in connection with biological treatment processes. Samples of dairy cow feces inoculated with Salmonella Senftenberg W775, Enterococcus faecalis, bacteriophage ?X174, and porcine parvovirus (PPV) were thermally treated using block thermostats at set temperatures in order to determine time-temperature regimes to achieve sufficient bacterial and viral reduction, and to model the inactivation rate. Pasteurization at 70°C in saline solution was used as a comparison in terms of bacterial and viral reduction and was proven to be effective in rapidly reducing all organisms with the exception of PPV (decimal reduction time of 1.2 h). The results presented here can be used to construct time-temperature regimes in terms of bacterial inactivation, with D-values ranging from 0.37 h at 55°C to 22.5 h at 46.0°C and 0.45 h at 55.0°C to 14.5 h at 47.5°C for Salmonella Senftenberg W775 and Enterococcus faecalis, respectively and for relevant enteric viruses based on the ?X174 phage with decimal reduction times ranging from 1.5 h at 55°C to 16.5 h at 46°C. Hence, the study implies that considerably lower treatment temperatures than 70°C can be used to reach a sufficient inactivation of bacterial pathogens and potential process indicator organisms such as the ?X174 phage and raises the question whether PPV is a valuable process indicator organism considering its extreme thermotolerance.     

The Combination of Zinc Compounds and Acidic pH Limits Aerobic Growth of a Salmonella typhimurium Poultry Marker Strain in Rich and Minimal Media

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to examine the combined effects of zinc compounds with different acidic pH levels on the aerobic growth of a S. typhimurium poultry isolate in either rich or minimal media. When overall main effects of pH levels of medium or concentrations of Zn compounds were compared, growth rates of the S. typhimurium poultry isolate were significantly ( p < 0.05) decreased by stepwise increase of pH levels of medium (pH 4, 5, 6, and 7) or concentrations (0.67, 3.35, and 6.03%) of Zn compounds (Zn acetate and Zn sulfate). In general growth rates of S. typhimurium poultry isolate appeared to be more reduced by Zn acetate than by Zn sulfate and more reduced in minimal media compared to rich media.