Publications by authors named "Rapallini M"

The use of certain antibiotics in food-producing animals is allowed in Europe following Regulation (EU) 2017/625. However, use could result in antibiotic residues in foodstuffs of animal origin. Maximum residue limits (MRLs) are in place to protect consumers.

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Aims: The aim of our study was to investigate the virulence and resistance of STEC from small ruminants farms in The Netherlands. Moreover, the potential transmission of STEC between animals and humans on farms was evaluated.

Methods And Results: From 182 farms, in total, 287 unique STEC isolates were successfully recovered from animal samples.

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Background: As WGS comes of age, changes in EU legislation implemented in 2021 allow its usage for systematic monitoring of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli from livestock and meat, replacing phenotypic testing. Presently, phenotypic testing correlates well with antimicrobial resistance predicted from WGS data. WGS has added value in the wealth of additional information that is present in the data.

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Background: Although the Netherlands is a country with a low endemic level of methicillin-resistant (MRSA), a national MRSA surveillance has been in place since 1989. In 2003 livestock emerged as a major reservoir of MRSA and currently livestock-associated MRSA (clonal complex CC398) make up 25% of all surveillance isolates. To assess possible transfer of resistant strains or resistance genes, MRSA obtained from humans and animals were characterized in detail.

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Article Synopsis
  • Salmonella Infantis is becoming more common in broilers and in human cases, with a mega-plasmid (pESI) associated with its virulence and antibiotic resistance.
  • In a study of 379 broiler flocks in the Netherlands, 3.7% of flocks tested positive for S. Infantis, with most isolates carrying the pESI-like mega-plasmid, showing genetic diversity even within the same farm.
  • Factors like poor litter quality and certain feed additives increased S. Infantis prevalence, while practices like vaccination and external cleaning appeared protective, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring and control strategies.
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Multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg isolates are frequently recovered in the Netherlands from poultry meat imported from South America. Our aim was to retrospectively assess the characteristics of the antimicrobial determinants, gene content and the clonal relatedness of 122 unique S. Heidelberg isolates from chicken meat from Brazil (n = 119) and Argentina (n = 3) that were imported between 2010 and 2015.

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Food for human consumption is screened widely for the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to assess the potential for transfer of resistant bacteria to the general population. Here, we describe an complex isolated from imported seafood that encodes two carbapenemases on two distinct plasmids. Both enzymes belong to Ambler class A β-lactamases, the previously described IMI-2 and a novel family designated FLC-1.

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Microbial growth inhibition tests are widely used as the primary screening approach for the detection of antibiotic residues in slaughter animals. In this study we evaluated and compared the performance of the European Union Four-Plate Test (EU4pt), the Nouws Antibiotic Test (NAT), and a commercial ampoule test, the PremiTest (applied to both muscle and kidney), by parallel analysis of 735 slaughter animals. The EU4pt only showed significant inhibition with two muscle samples containing 305 µg kg(-1) doxycycline and 648 µg kg(-1) tulathromycin, while an maximum residue limit (MRL) violation of 1100 µg kg(-1) sulfamethazine remained unnoticed.

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Tetracyclines are extensively used in veterinary medicine. For the detection of tetracycline residues in animal products, a broad array of methods is available. Luminescent bacterial biosensors represent an attractive inexpensive, simple and fast method for screening large numbers of samples.

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Monitoring large numbers of slaughter animals for the presence of antimicrobial residues is preferably carried out using microbiological screening methods, because of their high cost-effectiveness. An evaluation of the Nouws antibiotic test (NAT) was performed on routine monitoring samples and the performance of the method was compared with two other microbial screening methods: Screening test for antibiotic residues (STAR) and Premi Test. Analysis of 591 samples yielded four MRL violations.

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