Publications by authors named "Amal Ben Hassena"

This study investigated the biological activities of a hydroxytyrosol-rich extract from Olea europaea leaves, particularly its ability to eradicate severe pathogenic bacteria producing Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBLs). The latter bacteria are emerging microorganisms that pose significant challenges due to their resistance to a broad range of potent therapeutic drugs. The extract was prepared through an accessible acid hydrolysis method.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Abstract: Nontyphoidal Salmonella strains are among the major foodborne pathogens with emerging multidrug-resistant phenotypes. In this study, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of a collection of Salmonella isolates (n = 54) recovered from poultry and bivalve molluscs was performed. The study also investigated profiling of virulence and resistance genes as well as phylogenetic relationships through pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR fingerprinting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most frequent human infections in community and hospitals. This study aimed to determine the distribution of bacterial uropathogens among urinary tract infections diagnosed within the regional hospital Houcine Bouzaiene (Gafsa, South West Tunisia) during a survey of 54 days from the 8th of November to the 31st of December 2017. Enterobacterales strains were tested for antimicrobial resistance by disk diffusion method and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production was tested by double-disc synergy test.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

At the end of 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus caused an outbreak of COVID-19 disease. The spread of this once-in-a-century pathogen increases demand for appropriate medical care, which strains the capacity and resources of hospitals in a critical way. Given the limited time available to prepare for the required demand, health care administrators fear they will not be ready to face patient's influx.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has made impressive progress in the field of molecular biology. Its most common application for public health is in the area of surveillance of food-borne diseases. WGS has the potential for providing a large amount of information, such as the identification of the strain type, the characterization of antibiotic resistance and virulence, and phylogeny.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Multidrug-resistant isolates have been recovered from food in Tunisia. isolates from food are resistant to fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins. Surveillance of the antimicrobial susceptibility of foodborne bacteria is needed in Tunisia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Campylobacter and Arcobacter spp. are common causes of gastroenteritis in humans; these infections are commonly due to undercooked poultry. However, their virulence mechanism is still poorly understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a SYBR Green real time PCR method for the specific detection of Salmonella spp using a novel target, the siiA gene. Primer specificity testing was done on a panel of 76 Salmonella strains and 32 non-Salmonella strains. The primers directed against the siiA gene amplified all Salmonella strains tested, while non-Salmonella strains were not amplified.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bovine abortion of unknown infectious etiology still remains a major economic problem. Thus, we investigated whether Brucella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

All over the world, the incidence of Salmonella spp contamination on different food sources like broilers, clams and cow milk has increased rapidly in recent years. The multifaceted properties of Salomnella serovars allow the microorganism to grow and multiply in various food matrices, even under adverse conditions. Therefore, methods are needed to detect and trace this pathogen along the entire food supply network.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Increasing consumer demand for healthier food products has led to the development of governmental policies regarding health claims in many developed countries. In this context, contamination of poultry by food-borne pathogens is considered one of the major problems facing the progress of the poultry industry in Tunisia.

Result: Zeolite (Clinoptilolites) was added to chicken feed at concentrations 0,5% or 1% and was evaluated for its effectiveness to reduce total flora in chickens and its effects on performance of the production.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF