Research Publications (Food Safety)

ABSTRACT Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) is one of the pathogens that cause fatal duck viral hepatitis (DVH) in ducklings, which is an acute and contagious disease with a high mortality rate. Despite a continuing official duck vaccination program, DHAV infection remains a major threat to the duck industry. Considerable changes were observed in the epidemiology of DHAV-1/-3 in China over time.

ABSTRACT Pullorum disease caused by Salmonella Pullorum is one of the most important infectious diseases in the poultry industry worldwide, which leads to serious economic losses in many developing countries because of its high mortality rate in young chicks. The traditional slide agglutination test with low cost, fast reaction, and on-site detection has been widely used in the diagnosis of Pullorum disease.

ABSTRACT To investigate Molybdenum (Mo) and Cadmium (Cd) co-induced the levels of autophagy-related genes via AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in Shaoxing Duck (Anas platyrhyncha) kidney, 60 healthy 11-day-old ducks were randomly divided into 6 groups, which were treated with Mo or/and Cd at different doses on the basal diet for 120 d.

ABSTRACT The poultry industry has recently undergone transitions into antibiotic free production, and viable antibiotic alternatives, such as probiotics, are necessary. Through in ovo probiotic inoculation, beneficial microflora development in the gastrointestinal tract may occur prior to hatch without negatively impacting chick performance.

ABSTRACT Subclinical necrotic enteritis (NE) is primarily caused by the gram-positive bacterium, Clostridium perfringens (Cp). The trend towards removal of in-feed antimicrobials and subsequent increased emergence of infection in poultry has resulted in a wide interest in better understanding of the mechanism behind this disease. The virulence of NE, to a large extent, depends on the virulence of Cp strains.

ABSTRACT The present study evaluated the efficacy of ethanol treatment (0, 30, 50, or 70%) alone or in combination with ultrasound (37 kHz, 380 W) for the reduction of natural indigenous mesophilic aerobic bacteria (MAB), coliforms, and inoculated Salmonella Typhimurium on chicken skin.

ABSTRACT The efficiency of combination treatment of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) and ultraviolet light (UV) for inactivation of Salmonella enteritidis (S. enteritidis) on the surface of plastic poultry coops and other facility surfaces was evaluated in the presence of organic matter. The bactericidal activities of SAEW, UV + SAEW, and composite phenol (CP) for inactivating S. enteritidis were also compared.

ABSTRACT In Ethiopia, poultry production is an important source of domestic food and nutrition security while providing income for nearly 80% of Ethiopians. However, several infectious and parasitic diseases hamper poultry production. To date, evidence on the nationwide burden of specific diseases has not been collated to inform targeting of poultry health interventions.

ABSTRACT One natural recombinant avian leukosis virus (ALV) strain GX14DJ3–18 was isolated from a native gamecock by DF-1 cell culture and identified with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), immunofluorescence assay and the viral genome's nucleotide sequencing.

ABSTRACT Interspecies transmission of fecal microbiota can serve as an indicator for (indirect) contact between domestic and wild animals to assess risks of pathogen transmission, e.g., avian influenza. Here, we investigated whether oral inoculation of laying hens with feces of wild ducks (mallards, Anas platyrhynchos) resulted in a hen fecal microbiome that was detectably altered on community parameters or relative abundances of individual genera.

ABSTRACT We developed a rapid fluorescent microsphere immunochromatographic test strip (FM-ICTS) assay for the quantitative detection of avian leukosis virus (ALV). A monoclonal antibody specific for the ALV major capsid protein encoded by the gag gene was coupled to label fluorescent microspheres. ALV antibodies were coated on a nitrocellulose membrane to prepare a test line for sample detection.

ABSTRACT Dietary prebiotics are thought to be potentially important alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in poultry production because of their beneficial performance and health effects. The administration of dietary prebiotics has been demonstrated to improve animal health, growth performance, and microbial food safety in poultry production.

ABSTRACT Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health departments, and other state and federal partners have linked contact with live poultry to 70 human Salmonella outbreaks in the United States from 2000 to 2017, which resulted in a total of 4,794 illnesses, 894 hospitalizations, and 7 deaths. During human salmonellosis outbreaks environmental sampling is rarely conducted as part of the outbreak investigation.

S. Guix et al. During a waterborne outbreak of norovirus in Spain, we estimated 50% illness doses for a group of exposed (secretor) persons to be 556 (95% CI 319–957) genome copies/day for norovirus GI and 2,934 (95% CI 1,683–5,044) genome copies/day for norovirus GII. Use of a propidium monoazide viability assay reduced these values.

M. Tobin-D’Angelo et al. Shigella commonly causes gastroenteritis but rarely spreads to the blood. During 2002–2012, we identified 11,262 Shigella infections through population-based active surveillance in Georgia; 72 (0.64%) were isolated from blood. Bacteremia was associated with age >18 years, black race, and S. flexneri. More than half of patients with bacteremia were HIV-infected.

Concerns about food contamination by Listeria monocytogenes are on the rise with increasing consumption of ready-to-eat foods. Biofilm production of L. monocytogenes is presumed to be one of the ways that confer its increased resistance and persistence in the food chain.

Aflatoxin contamination in foods is a global concern as they are carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic compounds. The aflatoxin-producing fungi, mainly from the Aspergillus section Flavi, are ubiquitous in nature and readily contaminate various food commodities, thereby affecting human’s health. The incidence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp.

Pathogenic Leptospira species represent a major concern for livestock but also for human health, as they cause zoonotic infections. Forty strains representing L. interrogans, L. borgpetersenii, and L. noguchii were isolated from naturally infected cattle in Uruguay. Here, we report the whole-genome sequences for these strains.

Here, we present data on the complete genome sequences of 11 Staphylococcus sp. isolates (three S. chromogenes isolates and one isolate each of S. saprophyticus, S. xylosus, S. hominis, S. agnetis, S. caprae, S. aureus, and S. warneri), obtained as part of a mastitis study of buffalo milk (from healthy animals and from those with subclinical mastitis) and milkers’ hands.

Accurate and rapid assessment of Candida auris antifungal drug resistance is crucial for effective infection prevention and control actions, as well as for patient management. Here, performance of a molecular diagnostic platform, enabling rapid identification of FKS1 and ERG11 mutations conferring echinocandin and azole resistance, respectively, was evaluated on a panel of clinical skin swabs. Gene sequencing and antifungal susceptibility testing were used as the gold standard.

Nafithromycin (WCK 4873), a novel lactone-ketolide, was administered to healthy adult subjects in 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 studies. In the first-in-human study, single ascending oral doses of nafithromycin (100 to 1,200 mg) were administered to subjects under fasted or fed conditions, with effects of food on bioavailability of nafithromycin studied at the dose levels of 400 and 800 mg.

Botulism is caused by botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), the most poisonous substance known. BoNTs are also classified as tier 1 biothreat agents due to their high potency and lethality. The existence of seven BoNT serotypes (A to G), which differ by 35% to 68% in amino acid sequences, necessitates the development of serotype-specific countermeasures.

Worldwide, tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death due to infection with a single pathogenic agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In the absence of an effective vaccine, new, more powerful antibiotics are required to halt the growing spread of multidrug-resistant strains and to shorten the duration of TB treatment.

A large OXA-48 outbreak in The Netherlands involved the spread of OXA-48-producing Enterobacteriaceae among at least 118 patients, suggesting horizontal transfer of this resistance gene through one or more plasmids. Elucidating transmission dynamics of resistance plasmids is hampered by the low resolution of classic typing methods. This study aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of plasmids carrying the OXA-48 carbapenemase using a next-generation sequencing approach.