Bacteriological and Molecular Identification of Thermophilic Campylobacters of Animal and Human Origins in Beni-Suef Governorate, Egypt

Thermophilic species of the genus Campylobacter are generally considered commensals of livestock and the leading cause of bacterial food-borne zoonoses. The present study was delineated to clarify the role of Campylobacter species as a diarrheagenic pathogen in animals and man and to investigate the fecal carriage rate of Campylobacters in animals and in-contact humans. A total number of 78 fecal samples were collected from diarrheic and non-diarrheic cattle (n=26), sheep (n=28) and humans (n=24). Samples were enriched in Preston broth, followed by streaking on selective Campylobacter agar base medium. The suspected colonies were tested morphologically and biochemically. Campylobacter spp. was recovered from 29 (37.17%) out of 78 fecal samples (34.61%, 42.85% and 33.33%) for cattle, sheep and humans, respectively. Positive correlation between the occurrence of diarrhea and the isolation of Campylobacters was observed in samples of human origin while in adult ruminants particularly sheep, high fecal carriage rate was observed in non-diarrheic animals. The isolates were identified to genus and species levels by polymerase chain reaction targeting the 16S rRNA gene, the mapA gene and the ceuE gene which revealed that all of isolates were Campylobacter jejuni. These findings pose a significant epidemiological implication where cattle and sheep act as vehicles of, and excrete Campylobacter jejuni which is capable of causing disease in the local community in the area of investigation

Antimicrobial properties of promising Zn–Fe based layered double hydroxides for the disinfection of real dairy wastewater effluents

Abstract Bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics is a serious challenge that requires novel antibacterial agents. Moreover, wastewater from dairy farms might contain countless number of pathogens, organic contaminants and heavy metals that consider a threat to the terrestrial and aquatic environment. Therefore, the development of cost-effective, highly operation-convenient, recyclable multifunctional antimicrobial agents became an urgent necessity. Layered double hydroxides (LDH) have shown promising results as antibacterial agents. However, more work is required to further investigate and improve the antimicrobial performance of LDH structures against pathogens. In this study three Zn–Fe based LDH were investigated for real dairy wastewater disinfection. The three LDH samples were cobalt substituted Zn–Fe LDH (CoZnFe), magnesium substituted Zn–Fe LDH (MgZnFe) and MgZnFe-Triazol LDH (MgZnFe-Tz) nanocomposite. Seventy-five wastewater samples were collected from a dairy farm sewage system. The sensitivity of isolated pathogens was tested against two commonly used disinfectants (Terminator and TH4) and was assessed against the three LDH samples at different concentrations. The overall prevalence of S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae and Staph. aureus was significantly at 80.0% (P-value = 0.008, X2 = 9.700). There was variable degree of resistance to the tested disinfectants, whereas the antimicrobial activity of CoZnFe LDH was increased significantly at a concentration of 0.005 mg/L followed by MgZnFe LDH while MgZnFe-Tz LDH showed minor antibacterial potency. It was concluded that CoZnFe LDH showed a better biocidal activity in killing the isolated resistant pathogens, making it a good choice tool in combating the zoonotic microbes in wastewater sources