A preliminary microbiological assessment of process hygiene of traditional outdoor camel slaughter in Sahrawi refugee camps.

The aim of this study was to investigate the hygiene performance of a camel (Camelus dromedarius) slaughtering process as carried out with the traditional method in the Sahrawi refugee camps located in southwestern Algeria. The camel slaughtering process in this region differs significantly from that carried out in commercial abattoirs. Slaughtering is performed outdoors in desert areas, and dehiding of the carcass is approached via the dorsoventral route rather than the classic ventrodorsal route. Samples were taken from 10 camel carcasses from three different areas: the hide, the carcass meat immediately after dehiding, and the meat after final cutting. Enterobacteriaceae counts (EC) were enumerated employing conventional laboratory techniques. Carcass meat samples resulted in EC below the detection limit more frequently if the hide samples from the same carcass had also EC counts below the detection limit. Because of the low number of trials, the calculation of statistical significance of the results was not possible. Further experimental research is needed in order to validate the results presented in this study. The comparison of the microbiological hygiene performance between dorsal dehiding and traditional ventral dehiding of slaughtered animals could serve to validate the hypothesis of the potential positive impact of the dorsal dehiding method in carcass meat hygiene

E. Coli, K. Pneumoniae and Providencia Rettgeri ESBLs producing isolated from pigs in the Veneto region, Italy

Twelve Enterobacteriaceae (n=10 E coli, n=1 K. pneumoniae and n=1 P. rettgeri) resistant to cefotaxime and/or ceftazidime were isolated from ten sick piglets in the same pig farm in October 2006. All the strains were multi-drug resistant and confirmed as ESBLs producers by synergy tests PCR and sequencing were carried out to detect the bla genes. The E. coli isolates and P. rettgeri harboured the blactx-M·l· the K. pneumontae isolate were positive for SHV bla gene (99% of omology with blasHV-28). All the isolates but P rettgeri carried a TEM-1 13-lactamase as well. This study represents the first report of Enterobacteriaceae ESBLs-producmg other than E. coli and Salmonella in veterinary microbiology.</p

RESISTANCE GENES IN MRSP ISOLATED FROM PETS WITH SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (SP) belongs to the saprophytic bacterial flora of animals, but it is also associated with skin and mucosal infections. The increasing levels of methicillin resistant SP (MRSP) isolated in animals has become a concern in terms of public health, especially for multi-resistant clones, as both resistant strains and resistance genes may be transferred from animals to humans. In fact, MRSP are usually multi-resistant. In this scenario, we investigated MRSP isolates from pets to identify resistance genes, other than the beta-lactamase resistance genes, using the microarray. Moreover, a survey was performed in order to collect anamnestic data. 58/81 SP isolated from pet suffering from soft tissue infections were mecA positive and its presence was statistically related to the administration of antibiotics in the animals in the previous 24 months (Chi Square Test, p=0.002). In addition to mecA, these strains harbour genes encoding for kanamycin (aaacA-aphD; 51/58), tetracycline (tetk, tetM; 29/58). erythromycin (ermB: 55/58). These resistance genes are located on mobile portion of the genome (transposon or plasmid) meaning that they could be easily transferred among bacterial species of animals and humans. In conclusion, most of our MRSP are potentially resistant to aminoglycosides, tetracycline and macrolides, so they are difficult to treat. The knowledge of the resistance pattern would be useful in the clinical and in the epidemiological setting in order to reduce the number of treatment attempts and to monitor the antimicrobial resistance. The Italian Ministry of Health [IZSVE 16/18 RC] supported this work

Anthrax phylogenetic structure in Northern Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anthrax has almost disappeared from mainland Europe, except for the Mediterranean region where cases are still reported. In Central and South Italy, anthrax is enzootic, but in the North there are currently no high risk areas, with only sporadic cases having been registered in the last few decades. Regional genetic and molecular characterizations of anthrax in these regions are still lacking. To investigate the potential molecular diversity of <it>Bacillus anthracis </it>in Northern Italy, canonical Single nucleotide polymorphism (canSNP) and Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) genotyping was performed against all isolates from animal outbreaks registered in the last twenty years in the region.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Six <it>B. anthracis </it>strains were analyzed. The canSNP analysis indicates the presence of three sublineages/subgroups each of which belong to one of the 12 worldwide CanSNP genotypes: B.Br.CNEVA (3 isolates), A.Br.005/006 (1 isolates) and A.008/009 (2 isolate). The latter is the dominant canSNP genotype in Italy. The 15-loci MLVA analysis revealed five different genotypes among the isolates.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The major B branch and the A.Br.005/006 were recovered in the Northeast region. The genetic structure of anthrax discovered in this area differs from the rest of the country, suggesting the presence of a separate and independent <it>B. anthracis </it>molecular evolution niche. Although the isolates analyzed in this study are limited in quantity and representation, these results indicate that <it>B. anthracis </it>genetic diversity changes around the Alps.</p