Search results for "foodborne"
showing 10 items of 57 documents
An outbreak of food poisoning due to a genogroup I norovirus.
2005
Norovirus infection is associated with approximately 90% of epidemic non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis. The objective of this study is to describe an outbreak of norovirus genogroup I gastroenteritis which affected workers in a hospital and was attributed to food prepared by an infected food handler. Forty cases were detected, of whom 80% were interviewed. The index case was the cook employed in the hospital cafeteria. The following symptoms were observed: abdominal pain in 90·6%, vomiting in 71·9%, diarrhoea in 71·9%, general indisposition in 62·5%, headaches in 53·1% and fever in 32·4% of cases. The initial symptoms were abdominal pain in 37% and vomiting in 28%. Of the 14 samples analy…
Antiviral activity of alginate-oleic acid based coatings incorporating green tea extract on strawberries and raspberries
2018
Foodborne illnesses caused by the consumption of berries contaminated with human enteric viruses, namely human noroviruses (NoVs) and the hepatitis A virus (HAV), remain a significant food safety concern. The objective of this research was to investigate a food-grade edible coating composed of alginate/oleic and containing green tea extract (GTE) as an antiviral agent for the preservation of fresh strawberries and raspberries. Berries were stored at ambient (25 °C) temperature and refrigerated (10 °C) conditions. Initially, the effect of the pH of the film-forming dispersions (FFD) on their antioxidant and antiviral activity was analysed. Then, the physicochemical properties of edible algin…
Noroviral P-Particles as an In Vitro Model to Assess the Interactions of Noroviruses with Probiotics
2014
Noroviruses (NoVs) are the main etiologic agents of acute epidemic gastroenteritis and probiotic bacteria have been reported to exert a positive effect on viral diarrhea. The protruding (P) domain from NoVs VP1 capsid protein has the ability to assemble into the so-called P-particles, which retain the binding ability to host receptors. We purified the P-domains from NoVs genotypes GI.1 and GII.4 as 6X(His)-tagged proteins and determined that, similar to native domains, they were structured into P-particles that were functional in the recognition of the specific glycoconjugated receptors, as established by surface plasmon resonance experiments. We showed that several lactic acid bacteria (pr…
Application of propidium monoazide-qPCR to evaluate the ultrasonic inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in fresh-cut vegetable wash water.
2012
The efficacy of sanitizing technologies in produce or in vegetable wash water is generally evaluated by plate count in selective media. This procedure is time consuming and can lead to misinterpretations because environmental conditions and sanitizing processes may affect bacterial growth or culturable capability. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the applicability of a propidium monoazide real-time PCR (PMA-qPCR) method to monitor the inactivation by ultrasound treatment of foodborne bacteria in fresh-cut vegetable wash water. To this aim, lettuce wash water was artificially inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 (10⁶ CFU/mL) and treated by means of a continuous ultrasonic irr…
Dracunculiasis: water-borne anthroponosis vs. food-borne zoonosis.
2019
Abstract Dracunculiasis is the first parasitic disease set for eradication. However, recent events related to the Dracunculus medinensis epidemiology in certain African countries are apparently posing new challenges to its eradication. Two novel facts have emerged: the existence of animal reservoirs (mainly dogs but also cats and baboons), and possibly a new food-borne route of transmission by the ingestion of paratenic (frogs) or transport (fish) hosts. Therefore, instead of being exclusively a water-borne anthroponosis, dracunculiasis would also be a food-borne zoonosis. The existence of a large number of infected dogs, mainly in Chad, and the low number of infected humans, have given ris…
Seasonal variations of antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of essential oils extracted from three Citrus limon L. Burm. cultivars
2014
In order to investigate the seasonal variations of antimicrobial properties and chemical composition of essential oils (EOs), three different cultivars of Citrus limon L. Burm. spp. (Femminello Santa Teresa, Monachello and Femminello Continella) were collected at 6-week intervals, from December 2012 to April 2013, for a total of four harvests. The EOs were extracted from lemon peel by hydro-distillation. The antimicrobial activity, tested by paper disc diffusion method, was evaluated against common food-related pathogenic bacteria (Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica and Enterobacter spp.). EOs were more effective against Gram-positive than Gram-negative bacte…
Virus entéricos humanos en alimentos: detección y métodos de inactivación
2020
[ES] Los principales patógenos víricos que podemos adquirir ingiriendo alimentos contaminados son los norovirus, el virus de la hepatitis A y el virus de la hepatitis E que se propagan principalmente a través de la vía fecal oral. En los últimos años, la incidencia de brotes de transmisión alimentaria causados por estos patógenos ha experimentado un aumento considerable, en parte debido al comercio globalizado y a los cambios en los hábitos de consumo. Las matrices alimentarias que mayor riesgo representan para el consumidor son los moluscos bivalvos, vegetales de IV gama, frutas tipo baya y platos listos para comer. Actualmente las técnicas moleculares son las más habituales para la detecc…
Molecular Identification of Yeasts Associated with Traditional Egyptian Dairy Products
2009
This study aimed to examine the diversity and ecology of yeasts associated with traditional Egyptian dairy products employing molecular techniques in yeast identification. A total of 120 samples of fresh and stored Domiati cheese, kariesh cheese, and "Matared" cream were collected from local markets and examined. Forty yeast isolates were cultured from these samples and identified using the restriction-fragment length polymorphism (RFLPs) of 5.8S-ITS rDNA region and sequencing of the domains D1 and D2 of the 26S rRNA gene. Yeasts were identified as Issatchenkia orientalis (13 isolates), Candida albicans (4 isolates), Clavispora lusitaniae (Candida lusitaniae) (9 isolates), Kodamaea ohmeri (…
Lymnaea schirazensis, an Overlooked Snail Distorting Fascioliasis Data: Genotype, Phenotype, Ecology, Worldwide Spread, Susceptibility, Applicability
2011
BackgroundLymnaeid snails transmit medical and veterinary important trematodiases, mainly fascioliasis. Vector specificity of fasciolid parasites defines disease distribution and characteristics. Different lymnaeid species appear linked to different transmission and epidemiological patterns. Pronounced susceptibility differences to absolute resistance have been described among lymnaeid populations. When assessing disease characteristics in different endemic areas, unexpected results were obtained in studies on lymnaeid susceptibility to Fasciola. We undertook studies to understand this disease transmission heterogeneity.Methodology/principal findingsA ten-year study in Iran, Egypt, Spain, t…
Fascioliasis: A worldwide parasitic disease of importance in travel medicine
2014
Fascioliasis is a foodborne zoonotic disease caused by the two parasite species Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica. This trematodiasis has never been claimed special relevance for travellers and migrants. However, the situation has drastically changed in the last two decades, in a way that fascioliasis should today be included in the list of diseases to be enhanced in Travel Medicine. Different kind of travellers have been involved in human infection reports: business travellers, tourists, migrants, expatriated workers, military personnel, religious missionaries, and refugees. Europe is the continent where more imported cases have been reported in many countries. More cases would have…