Research Publications (Food Safety)

ABSTRACTS Non‐O1/non‐O139 nontoxigenic Vibrio cholerae associated with cholera‐like diarrhea has been reported in Kolkata, India. However, the property involved in the pathogenicity of these strains has remained unclear. We examined the character of 25 non‐O1/non‐O139 nontoxigenic V. cholerae isolated during 8 years from 2007 to 2014 in Kolkata.

Papillomatous digital dermatitis (PDD) is a foot disease causing lameness in dairy cattle. It is regarded as a polymicrobial infection, although its etiology is not fully understood. PDD is treated by the topical or systemic administration of antibiotics such as lincomycin (LCM); however, the milk of the cows cannot be marketed during the treatment and withdrawal period due to the residual antibiotics in milk.

In the 1980s, I found that the chromosomal β‐lactamase of Klebsiella pneumoniae LEN‐1 showed a very high similarity to the R‐plasmid‐mediated penicillinase TEM‐1 on amino acid sequence level, and this strongly suggested the TEM‐1 originated from the chromosomal penicillinases of K. pneumoniae or related bacteria.

ABSTRACT Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) has begun to spread globally among men who have sex with men (MSM). Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) also may be transmitted through sexual contact among MSM. To assess the current status of these viruses among MSM in Japan, the seroprevalence of both viruses using 503 plasma samples collected between 2009 and 2018 from HIV‐positive male donors who were presumed to be mainly MSM was investigated.

Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) recognize sialic acid linked α2,3 to galactose (SAα2,3Gal) glycans as receptors. In this study, the interactions between hemagglutinins (HAs) of AIVs and sulfated SAα2,3Gal glycans were analyzed in order to clarify the molecular basis of interspecies transmission of AIVs from ducks to chickens.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a leading cause of seafood‐borne bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. Since its discovery in 1950, this bacterium has been isolated in widespread outbreaks and in sporadic cases of gastroenteritis worldwide. Although the exotoxin, thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH), had been the focus of extensive research on the pathogenicity of V. parahaemolyticus, the whole‐genome sequencing of a clinical isolate, RIMD2210633 strain, was a breakthrough in this field.

Multidrug efflux pumps play an important role in bacterial multidrug resistance by actively excreting antibiotics. The ABC‐type drug efflux pump MacAB was originally recorded as a macrolide‐specific pump. MacAB is also known to be required for the virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium following oral infection in mice.

ABSTRACT We conducted a serological survey to detect antibodies against influenza A virus (IAV) in Japanese wild boars in Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, between 2014 and 2017. Sero‐prevalence against a pandemic‐like swine H1N1 (H1N1pdm) virus was identified in 27.1% of specimens, and 1.7% were positive for both swine H1N2 and H3N2 viruses, indicating that wild boars could play an important role in the dynamics of H1N1pdm viral dispersion in the wild.

Kenya is endemic for cholera with different waves of outbreaks having been documented since 1971. In recent years, new variants of Vibrio cholerae O1 have emerged and have replaced most of the traditional El Tor biotype globally. These strains also appear to have increased virulence, and it is important to describe and document their phenotypic and genotypic traits. This study characterized 146 V. cholerae O1 isolates from cholera outbreaks that occurred in Kenya between 1975 and 2017.