Control of Listeria monocytogenes Biofilms in a Simulated Food-Processing Environment.

Biofilm-forming ability may vary significantly among different Listeria (L.) monocytogenes strains. This interstrain variation is also observed in L.

Modelling the effect of osmotic adaptation and temperature on the non-thermal inactivation of Salmonella spp. on brioche-type products.

Salmonella spp. is known to survive in intermediate- and low-moisture foods. Bakery products such as cream-filled brioche (a 0.

A 3-year hygiene and safety monitoring of a meat processing plant which uses raw materials of global origin.

A systematic approach in monitoring the hygiene of a meat processing plant using classical microbiological analyses combined with molecular characterization tools may assist in the safety of the final products. This study aimed: (i) to evaluate the total hygiene level and, (ii) to monitor and characterize the occurrence and spread of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in the environment and the final products of a meat industry that processes meat of global origin.

Effect of frozen storage, different thawing methods and cooking processes on the survival of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in commercially shaped beef patties.

The effect of common handling practices (i.e., freezing, thawing and cooking) of beef patties on the survival of Salmonella spp.

Control of Listeria monocytogenes in the processing environment by understanding biofilm formation and resistance to sanitizers.

Listeria monocytogenes can colonize in the food processing environment and thus pose a greater risk of cross-contamination to food. One of the proposed mechanisms that facilitates such colonization is biofilm formation. As part of a biofilm, it is hypothesized that L.

Comparison of polymerase chain reaction methods and plating for analysis of enriched cultures of Listeria monocytogenes when using the ISO11290-1 method.

Analysis for Listeria monocytogenes by ISO11290-1 is time-consuming, entailing two enrichment steps and subsequent plating on agar plates, taking five days without isolate confirmation. The aim of this study was to determine if a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay could be used for analysis of the first and second enrichment broths, saving four or two days, respectively. In a comprehensive approach involving six European laboratories, PCR and traditional plating of both enrichment broths from the ISO11290-1 method were compared for the detection of L.

A generic model for spoilage of acidic emulsified foods: combining physicochemical data, diversity and levels of specific spoilage organisms.

The spoilage pattern of three emulsified, vegetable-based spreads of low pH (3.90-4.15) adjusted with acetic acid was characterized by correlating the growth of spoilage flora with the organoleptic and physicochemical changes, as well as the changes in the species composition of the dominant microflora during storage under isothermal conditions.

Comparison of decontamination efficacy of antimicrobial treatments for beef trimmings against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and 6 non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli serogroups.

Unlabelled: The decontamination efficacy of 6 chemical treatments for beef trimmings were evaluated against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and 6 non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (nSTEC) serogroups. Rifampicin-resistant 4-strain mixtures of E.

Field validation of predictive models for the growth of lactic acid bacteria in acidic cheese-based Greek appetizers.

A microbial model was developed for spoilage of two acidic Greek appetizers, namely, tyrosalata (TS) and tyrokafteri (TK), with pH values of 4.34 to 4.50 and 4.

Neonatal inguinoscrotal hematocele.

Neonatal inguinoscrotal lesion, or hematocele of neonates, is attributed to trauma from the plastic clamp used to ligate the umbilical cord immediately after delivery. The pathogenesis is thought to be related to two factors: incorrect clamping technique, in which the clamp is eccentric or too distal, and the infant's position, lying over the clamp. This is a rare event that usually appears on the 2nd day of life, with very few reports recorded in the literature.

Long-term sequelae of pneumococcal meningitis in children.

The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term effects of pneumococcal meningitis in children. From 1967 to 1988, a total of 90 children were admitted to the Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Thessaloniki, Greece, with the diagnosis of pneumococcal meningitis. Sixteen patients died in the hospital as a direct result of meningitis.

Treatment of childhood bacterial meningitis with ceftriaxone once daily: open, prospective, randomized, comparative study of short-course versus standard-length therapy.

Fifty-two children were included in this study to evaluate and compare short- versus standard-length ceftriaxone therapy for bacterial meningitis. The duration of the short-course regimens was 4, 6 and 7 days for Neisseria meningitidis, Hemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae, respectively. The standard-length regimens were twice as long.

Incidence of aplastic anemia in viral hepatitis in children.

During the 20-year period 1967-1986, 5,500 children (aged 2 months-14 years) with viral hepatitis were hospitalized in a Thessaloniki pediatric department. In 4 children (0.07%) hepatitis was complicated with aplastic anemia.

[Castleman's pseudotumor in children. Apropos of an unusual case].

A case of abdominal pseudo-tumor of Castleman disease is reported in a nine year-old boy. The patient is well without evidence of recurrence three years following resection. Castleman's disease is a benign disorder of lymph nodes that occurs rarely in children.

Hepatotoxic reactions in children with severe tuberculosis treated with isoniazid-rifampin.

The incidence and degree of liver injury was prospectively evaluated in 44 children, ages between 4 months and 14 years (mean age, 4.5 years) treated for tuberculosis with 15 to 20 mg isoniazid/kg/day and 15 mg rifampin/kg/day (INH-RIF). None of the patients had hepatic dysfunction before initiation of treatment.

Sequential computed tomography in tuberculous meningitis in infants and children.

Clinical and serial CT findings in 9 children, mainly infants with advanced tuberculous meningitis are presented. Hydrocephalus, tuberculomas and brain infarction were common findings in the acute stage of the disease. CT scan, allowing the detection and follow-up of cerebral manifestations of tuberculosis, proved to be an accurate and effective diagnostic method, which should be used in all cases of tuberculous meningitis.

Neonatal tetanus--long-term residual handicaps.

Thirty-eight survivors of neonatal tetanus were assessed, 5 to 12 years after recovery, for neurological sequelae, physical growth, and maturation. Apart from appreciable handicaps (cerebral palsy, mental deficit, behavioural disturbances) in 4 cases, no harmful effect on physical growth or development was found. The fact that affected patients had frequent and prolonged bouts of spasms and apnoea suggests that anoxia was the main cause of brain damage.

Virological and serological study in children hospitalized for acute hepatitis (detection of HBsAg, HAAg, anti-HAV and specific IgM-anti-HAV).

Serological methods were used to detect different markers of hepatitis A and B infection in a series of 36 children aged 3.5-13 years with acute viral hepatitis, hospitalized from August 1978 to October 1978. Hepatitis A was verified serologically in 30 patients (83.

[Evaluation of the criteria used for the interruption of treatment in bacterial meningitis (persistent pleocytosis and hyper-cervicospinal fluid proteins (author's transl)].

Among 809 patients with bacterial meningitis persistent pleocytosis greater than 60 white blood, cells/mm3, after 10 days or more of therapy, was found in 25 patients and persistent hypercervicospinal fluid proteins greater than 70 mg/dl in 24. In 14 patients there was an association of these disturbances. All cases, except one, were adequately treated.

Anthrax in children: a long forgotten, potentially fatal infection.

After a brief account of anthrax morbidity in northern Greece in recent years, 4 cases in 1977 of cutaneous anthrax in 10 to 13-year-old children are presented. Two had an atypical cutaneous lesion. In 1 of these, a 13-year-old girl, the disease was complicated by severe, eventually fatal meningitis.

Immunological studies in children with acute viral hepatitis.

Sera from 116 consecutive unselected cases of sporadic acute viral hepatitis in children were examined for hepatitis B antigen (HBAg), smooth-muscle autoantibodies (SMA), other autoantibodies and immunoglobulins, and skin tests were performed with dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB). HBAg was detected in twenty-one and SMA in ninety-eight out of 116 sera that had been obtained during the 1st or 2nd week from the onset of jaundice. Hepatitis B antigen was present in seventeen out of the eighteen SMA negative patients (94-4%) and in only four out of the ninety-eight SMA-positive patients (4-1%).