Decontamination of knives used in a slaughterhouse by a commercial non-thermal UV-C treatment.

To assess the antimicrobial effect of a commercial UV-C system, knives inoculated with and as well as naturally contaminated and collected from the wet and clean area of a slaughterhouse knives were examined. For inoculated knives, UVC treatment for 30 s reduced mean counts by 5.1 log CFU cm and mean counts by 4.

Microbiological quality and presence of foodborne pathogens in raw milk cheeses and raw meat products marketed at farm level in Switzerland.

This study investigated the microbiological quality and presence of bacterial foodborne pathogens in 51 raw milk cheeses (mainly semihard and hard cheese) and 53 raw meat products (cured meat products and sausages) marketed at farm level. With regard to Enterobacteriaceae, , and coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS), the examined products were generally of a good microbiological quality. Enterobacteriaceae were found in seven cheeses (1.

Analysis of a poultry slaughter process: Influence of process stages on the microbiological contamination of broiler carcasses.

In a large-scale Swiss poultry abattoir, a microbiological process analysis of broiler carcasses was performed. At each selected process stage (scalding, plucking, evisceration, washing, and chilling), 90 carcasses from 30 flocks were sampled and examined for , , , Enterobacteriaceae, and extended-spectrum b-lactamases-producing Enterobacteriaceae. With regard to counts on carcasses, plucking tended to slightly increase the results (on average by 0.

Effect of a commercial steam-vacuuming treatment implemented after slaughtering for the decontamination of cattle carcasses.

To assess the antimicrobial effect of a commercial steam-vacuuming system newly implemented after slaughtering, 105 cattle carcasses were examined for total viable counts (TVC) at four different areas. Before steam vacuuming, mean TVC of the excision samples were comparable at the perineal area and brisket (3.0-3.

Characteristics of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli O157 in Slaughtered Reindeer from Northern Finland.

Fecal samples collected from 470 slaughtered reindeer 6 to 7 months of age were screened by real-time PCR (after enrichment) for Shiga toxin genes (stx) and then for Escherichia coli serogroup O157. Shiga toxin genes were found frequently (>30% of samples), and serogroup O157 was detected in 20% of the stx-positive samples. From these samples, a total of 25 E.

Presence of foodborne pathogens, extended-spectrum β-lactamase -producing Enterobacteriaceae, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in slaughtered reindeer in northern Finland and Norway.

Background: Various food-producing animals were recognized in recent years as healthy carriers of bacterial pathogens causing human illness. In northern Fennoscandia, the husbandry of semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) is a traditional livelihood and meat is the main product. This study determined the presence of selected foodborne pathogens, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae in healthy semi-domesticated reindeer at slaughter in northern Finland and Norway.

Microbiological contamination of cattle carcasses at different stages of slaughter in two abattoirs.

Cattle carcasses from two abattoirs were examined at selected stages of slaughter (skinning, evisceration, trimming, washing, blast chilling) for aerobic colony counts (ACC) and Enterobacteriaceae. At each stage and abattoir, 50 carcasses were sampled by swabbing at the neck, brisket, flank and rump. After skinning, average ACC on carcasses was 1.

Microarray-based characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates obtained from chicken carcasses.

A total of 34 Staphylococcus aureus isolates from flock-wise pooled chicken neck skin samples collected at two abattoirs during slaughter were characterized with DNA microarray analysis and spa typing. The 20 isolates from abattoir A all belonged to clonal complex (CC) 12 and spa type t160. Of the 14 isolates from abattoir B, 7 belonged to CC5-t3478, 5 to CC12-t160, 1 to CC45-t040, and 1 to CC101-t056.

Detection of the emerging Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26:H11/H- sequence type 29 (ST29) clone in human patients and healthy cattle in Switzerland.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26:H11/H(-) strains showing the characteristics of the emerging human-pathogenic ST29 clone (stx2a(+) only, eae(+), plasmid gene profile hlyA(+) etpD(+)) were detected from human patients and healthy cattle, indicating a possible reservoir. Sheep also appear to shed strains related to the new pathogenic clone O26:H11/H(-) (ST29, stx1a(+) only, eae(+), plasmid gene profile hlyA(+) etpD(+)).

Evaluation of seven different commercially available real-time PCR assays for detection of shiga toxin 1 and 2 gene subtypes.

Following the recent outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O104:H4 infection in Germany, the demand for fast detection of STEC has again increased. Various real-time PCR-based methods enabling detection of Shiga toxin genes (stx) have been developed and can be used for applications in food microbiology. The present study was conducted to evaluate the reliability of seven commercially available real-time PCR systems for detection of stx1 and stx2 subtypes.

ESBL-producing uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from dogs and cats in Switzerland.

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia (E.) coli have emerged in human and veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of ESBL-producers among uropathogenic E.

Shedding of foodborne pathogens and microbial carcass contamination of hunted wild ruminants.

To assess the shedding of selected bacterial foodborne pathogens, fecal samples from 239 hunted wild red deer, roe deer, chamois, and ibex were examined. All samples tested negative for Salmonella spp. and L.

Prevalence and characteristics of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci from livestock, chicken carcasses, bulk tank milk, minced meat, and contact persons.

Background: Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CNS) are of increasing importance to animal and public health. In veterinary medicine and along the meat and milk production line, only limited data were so far available on MR-CNS characteristics. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of MR-CNS, to identify the detected staphylococci to species level, and to assess the antibiotic resistance profiles of isolated MR-CNS strains.

Characterization of attaching and effacing Escherichia coli (AEEC) isolated from pigs and sheep.

Background: Attaching and effacing Escherichia coli (AEEC) are characterized by their ability to cause attaching-and-effacing (A/E) lesions in the gut mucosa of human and animal hosts leading to diarrhoea. The genetic determinants for the production of A/E lesions are located on the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE), a pathogenicity island that also contains the genes encoding intimin (eae). This study reports data on the occurrence of eae positive E.

Occurrence and genotypes of Campylobacter in broiler flocks, other farm animals, and the environment during several rearing periods on selected poultry farms.

On 15 Swiss poultry farms, broiler flocks, other farm animals, and the environment were examined during consecutive rearing periods to investigate the occurrence and genetic diversity of Campylobacter. Of the 5154 collected samples, 311 (6%) from 14 farms were Campylobacter positive by culture. Amongst the positive samples, 228 tested positive for Campylobacter jejuni and 92 for Campylobacter coli.

Activatable Shiga toxin 2d (Stx2d) in STEC strains isolated from cattle and sheep at slaughter.

Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) harbouring the stx(2d-activatable) gene and expressing the mucus- and elastase-activatable phenotype have been associated with severe outcomes of human disease. However, there is limited data available on the occurrence of such strains in livestock reservoirs. In this study, we analyzed 11 STEC strains isolated from healthy cattle and sheep at slaughter that were originally detected to contain the stx(2c) allele, for the presence of the stx(2d-activatable) genotype.

Serotypes, intimin variants and other virulence factors of eae positive Escherichia coli strains isolated from healthy cattle in Switzerland. Identification of a new intimin variant gene (eae-eta2).

Background: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) share the ability to introduce attaching-and-effacing (A/E) lesions on intestinal cells. The genetic determinants for the production of A/E lesions are located on the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE), a pathogenicity island that also contains the genes encoding intimin (eae). This study reports information on the occurrence of eae positive E.

First isolation and further characterization of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) O157:H45 strains from cattle.

Background: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), mainly causing infantile diarrhoea, represents one of at least six different categories of diarrheagenic E. coli with corresponding distinct pathogenic schemes. The mechanism of EPEC pathogenesis is based on the ability to introduce the attaching-and-effacing (A/E) lesions and intimate adherence of bacteria to the intestinal epithelium.