Survival of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites in simulated gastric fluid and cow's milk.

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most important food-related pathogens worldwide. Besides contact to oocysts or ingestion of tissue cysts mainly by consumption of raw or undercooked meat from infected animals, raw milk is considered to be a risk factor and possible route of transmission for tachyzoites. This stage of the parasite is usually very sensitive to acidic pH and, therefore, considered unlikely to survive stomach passage.

Impact of Sodium Chloride, Sucrose and Milk on Heat Stability of the Murine Norovirus and the MS2 Phage.

Until now, little is known about the influence of food additives on heat inactivation of noroviruses. Only a few studies have shown a protective or inhibiting effect on virus infectivity caused by the food matrix. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of sodium chloride, sucrose and milk on heat stability of the surrogates murine norovirus (MNV) and MS2 phage at 60 °C for 1-5 min in PBS for MNV and for 5-120 min in suspension medium buffer for MS2 phage.

Impact of Selected Factors on the Occurrence of Contact Dermatitis in Turkeys on Commercial Farms in Germany.

In a long term research project in Germany the influence of husbandry on the health of fattening turkeys (Study 1) as well as the influence of practiced rearing conditions on the health of turkey poults (Study 2) was examined in 24 farms and at the meat processing plant. In all examined rearing farms, litter samples for the determination of litter moisture were taken. This paper summarizes the results obtained by our working group from 2007 until 2012.

Toward harmonization of the European food hygiene/veterinary public health curriculum.

Prompted by developments in the agri-food industry and associated recent changes in European legislation, the responsibilities of veterinarians professionally active in veterinary public health (VPH), and particularly in food hygiene (FH), have increasingly shifted from the traditional end-product control toward longitudinally integrated safety assurance. This necessitates the restructuring of university training programs to provide starting competence in this area for veterinary graduates or a sub-population of them. To date, there are substantial differences in Europe in the way in which graduate programs in FH/VPH are structured and in the time allocated to this important curricular group of subjects.

Salmonella status of pigs at slaughter--bacteriological and serological analysis.

Apart from Salmonella monitoring of pig herds during the period of growth to evaluate the efficacy of control programmes, monitoring at harvest level is of relevance to assess the Salmonella status of fattening pigs and the associated risk of introducing Salmonella organisms in the slaughter process. Samples from 1830 fattening pigs were gathered at slaughter. Ileocaecal lymph nodes, rectal and caecal content as well as tonsils were collected for bacteriological examinations, and a part of the diaphragm pillar muscle was taken to gain meat-juice for serological analysis.

Prevalence of specific IgG-antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in domestic turkeys determined by kinetic ELISA based on recombinant GRA7 and GRA8.

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma (T.) gondii is one of the most common zoonotic infectious agents worldwide. Besides its sexual reproduction in cats, T.

[Examination of the prevalence of skin injuries in debeaked fattened turkeys].

Within the framework of a cooperative research project, turkey health as well as numerous aspects of animal welfare were examined in various intensive commercial farms with varying rearing forms. The present study demonstrates the prevalence of skin injuries concerning living animals as well as carcasses of slaughtered turkeys of both sexes. Although all turkeys were debeaked, prevalences of skin injuries at a value of 12.

[Mycoplasma synoviae-associated egg-pole shell defects in laying hens].

Hens laying eggs with egg-pole shell defects (EPS) were examined in a clinical prospective study. 86 hens with EPS and 72 hens without EPS from three flocks were selected for this study. It could be proven serologically that hens with EPS had significant (p < 0.

[Examination of rearing standards and health status in turkeys in Germany].

Within the framework of a cooperative research project, sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in Germany (BMELV), turkey health as well as numerous aspects of animal welfare in various intensive commercial farms with varying rearing forms were examined. For this purpose extensive documentation of flock management and health status information was conducted over the past two years at the farms. Additional information was ascertained from the carcasses at the slaughterhouse.

[Antibody response after immunization with a Salmonella Typhimurium live vaccine in dependence on the way of application].

In Germany now, the recognition of Salmonella infections in pig herds is based on three different commercial tests detecting antibodies against Salmonella-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, a serious disadvantage of these tests, used so far, is the restricted detection of antibodies belonging predominantly to the immunoglobulin class g (IgG). Therefore, a new test was developed to detect three Ig classes (IgM, IgG and IgA).

Influence of inoculation levels and processing parameters on the survival of Campylobacter jejuni in German style fermented turkey sausages.

This study investigated the influence of inoculum levels and manufacturing methods on the survival of Campylobacter (C.) jejuni in raw fermented turkey sausages. Sausages were prepared and inoculated with C.

[Longitudinal study on the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in four German pig breeding and raising farms].

There are very few current data on the prevalence of Toxoplasma (T.) gondii in German pig farms. Consequently a reliable risk assessment of human Toxoplasmosis caused by ingesting raw or improperly cooked pork and pork products is not available.

[Distribution and genetic characterization of porcine Campylobacter coli isolates].

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the slaughter process on the Campylobacter (C.) coli prevalence on pig carcasses and finally pork. To detect C.

Prevalences and transmission routes of Campylobacter spp. strains within multiple pig farms.

In this work, faecal samples were collected from 15 pig farms to determine the Campylobacter prevalences at different times during the rearing period and to visualize the exchange of strains among the pig population by genotyping specific isolates. All isolated strains were identified as C. coli.

Prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica in fattening pigs.

The prevalence of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica in pig herds was monitored during six trials (at four different farrow-to-finisher farms). Samples were taken throughout the whole rearing period from birth of the piglets to the final fattening stage, and different samples were taken from these pigs during the slaughter process. Environmental samples also were evaluated to identify potential sources of on-farm infection.

Growth of Salmonella enteritidis in yolk from eggs laid by immunized hens.

After hyperimmunization of laying hens with Salmonella enteritidis, antibodies can be found in egg yolks. This study was conducted to ascertain whether the growth of S. enteritidis would be suppressed in the presence of antibodies contained in egg yolk.

[Use of AFLP analysis for the molecular biological fine typing of Campylobacter jejuni strains from turkey flocks].

One of the most promising genotyping methods for microorganisms is the AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism)-analysis, originally developed to genotype plants. The AFLP method has a high discriminatory power and an excellent reproducibility. Thus it is suitable for solving taxonomic and epidemiological questions.

A Rapid Test to Detect ST-producing Escherichia coli in Food.

Pasteurized milk, liquid egg, minced meat, and various salads were artificially contaminated with varying numbers of cells from six Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) strains able to produce heat-stable enterotoxins (ST). The ST-producing E.