Research Publications (Food Safety)

Stefan Wiehr, Anna-Maria Rolle, Philipp Warnke, Ursula Kohlhofer, Leticia Quintanilla-Martinez, Gerald Reischl, Ingo B. Autenrieth, Bernd J. Pichler, Stella E. Autenrieth

Sequence analyses of pathogen genomes facilitate the tracking of disease outbreaks and allow relationships between strains to be reconstructed and virulence factors to be identified. However, these methods are generally used after an outbreak has happened. Here, we show that support vector machine analysis of bovine E. coli O157 isolate...

To improve understanding of Salmonella Typhimurium LT2 inactivation in ground poultry carcasses, a series of experiments were carried out at multiple temperatures. Subsequently, a non-linear model was developed to predict Salmonella inactivation at composting and low rendering temperatures. The Salmonella inactivation study was conducted using bench-top experiments at 38, 48, 55, 62.5, 70, and 78°C in mixed and non-mixed reactors using ground poultry carcasses as a feedstock.

Summary

Aim

“Label Rouge” broiler free-range carcasses have been monitored since 1991, and broiler flocks since 2010, for contamination by the main foodborne zoonotic bacteria.

Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. are considered to be the major pathogens associated with human transmissible infectious diseases in the air of poultry houses. Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is an effective biocide against a wide range of microorganisms. Accordingly, this study investigated the efficiency of gaseous ClO2 application for disinfecting broiler houses by collecting air samples before and after fumigation using a passive method.

Abstract

The Phage shock protein (Psp) system is a widely conserved cell envelope stress response that is essential for the virulence of some bacteria, including Yersinia enterocolitica. Recruitment of PspA by the inner membrane PspB•PspC complex characterizes the activated state of this response. The PspB•PspC complex has been proposed to be a stress-responsive switch, changing from an OFF to an ON state in response to an inducing stimulus.

Abstract

In England in 2015, Shigella sonnei isolates from men who have sex with men produced extended-spectrum β-lactamases and exhibited macrolide resistance. Whole-genome sequencing showed a close relationship among the isolates, which harbored a plasmid that was previously identified in a shigellosis outbreak among this population but has acquired a mobile element.

To the Editor: In 2015, a locally acquired, multidrug-resistant Shigella flexneri infection was identified in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in an HIV-positive man who had sex with men (MSM). In September, the 53-year-old man consulted his physician at an outpatient clinic after experiencing abdominal pain, fatigue, and diarrhea without blood in stools or fever.

Islam I. Sabike, Ryoko Uemura, Yumi Kirino, Hirohisa Mekata, Satoshi Sekiguchi, Tamaki Okabayashi, Yoshitaka Goto, Wataru Yamazaki

Peptidoglycan (PG) acetylation of Gram-positive bacteria confers lysozyme resistance and contributes to survival in the host. However, the importance of PG acetylation in Gram-negative bacteria has not been fully elucidated. The genes encoding putative PG acetyltransferase A (PatA) and B (PatB) are highly conserved in Campylobacter jejuni, the predominant cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide. To evaluate the importance of PatA and PatB of C.

Many listeriosis outbreaks are caused by a few globally distributed clonal groups, designated clonal complexes or epidemic clones, of Listeria monocytogenes, several of which have been defined by classic multilocus sequence typing (MLST) schemes targeting 6 to 8 housekeeping or virulence genes. We have developed and evaluated core genome MLST (cgMLST) schemes and applied them to isolates from multiple clonal groups, including those associated with 39 listeriosis outbreaks.

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Enteritidis is a major cause of human salmonellosis worldwide; however, little is known about the genetic relationships between S. Enteritidis clinical strains and S. Enteritidis strains from other sources in Chile. We compared the whole genomes of 30 S. Enteritidis strains isolated from gulls, domestic chicken eggs, and humans in Chile, to investigate their phylogenetic relationships and to establish their relatedness to international strains.

Our study investigated the antimicrobial action of clove (Syzygium aromaticum) essential oil (EO) on the zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. After confirming the clove essential oil's general antibacterial effect, we analyzed the reference strain Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11168. Phenotypic, proteomic, and transcriptomic methods were used to reveal changes in cell morphology and functions when exposed to sublethal concentrations of clove EO.

Clostridium botulinum and Bacillus anthracis produce potent toxins that cause severe disease in humans. New and improved vaccines are needed for both of these pathogens. For mucosal vaccine delivery using lactic acid bacteria, chromosomal expression of antigens is preferred over plasmid-based expression systems, as chromosomal expression circumvents plasmid instability and the need for antibiotic pressure.

Abstract

Marcela Suárez-Esquivel, Nazareth Ruiz-Villalobos, Amanda Castillo-Zeledón, César Jiménez-Rojas, R. Martin Roop II, Diego J. Comerci, Elías Barquero-Calvo, Carlos Chacón-Díaz, Clayton C. Caswell, Kate S. Baker, Esteban Chaves-Olarte, Nicholas R. Thomson, Edgardo Moreno, Jean J. Letesson, Xavier De Bolle, Caterina Guzmán-Verri

Abstract

Aims

to investigate the presence of genomic traits associated with a set of enteric viruses as well as pathogenic Escherichia coli in Top Soil Improvers (TSI) from Italy

Methods

24 TSI samples originating from municipal sewage sludges, pig manure, green and household wastes were analysed by Real Time PCR for the presence of Hepatitis E virus, porcine and human adenovirus, norovirus, rotavirus and diarrheagenic E. coli.

Abstract

Aims

The object of this study was to determine the impact of only modifying the processing and/or particle size of pig feed on Salmonella shedding and faecal microbiota.

Abstract

Abstract

Mithila Ferdous, Anna M. D. Kooistra-Smid, Kai Zhou, John W. A. Rossen, Alexander W. Friedrich

K. V. Kuleshov et al.

Madushini N. Dharmasena, Catherine M. Feuille, Carly Elizabeth C. Starke, Arvind A. Bhagwat, Scott Stibitz, Dennis J. Kopecko