Members of group are important food contaminants and they are of relevant interest in food safety and public heath due to their ability to cause two distinct forms of food poisoning, emetic and diarrhoeal syndrome. In the present study, 90 strains of isolated from dairy products, have been typed using Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) analysis and investigated for the occurrence of 10 enterotoxigenic genes (, , , , , , , , and ) and one emetogenic gene (), to determine their genetic diversity. A total of 58 sequence types were identified and among these 17 were signalled as new profiles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDue to the increasing number of studies reporting the detection of antimicrobial-resistant isolates of , we sought to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates collected in Italy and find potential correlations to their serotypes and multilocus sequence types (MLST). The antimicrobial susceptibility of 317 isolates collected from food, humans, and the environment from 1998 to 2009 was assessed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Serotyping and MLST was also performed on all isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a pathogenic aerobic bacterium responsible for diarrhea and septicemia in humans. It is frequently isolated from food products of animal origin, including milk and dairy products. To data, few reports are currently available on the genetic characteristics and virulence profiles of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and genetic characteristics of spp. in bovine bulk tank milk produced in Apulia Region (Italy). Samples collected from 396 dairy farms, after enrichment in a selective broth, were subjected to an genus - specific Real Time PCR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in horses and its zoonotic potential is poorly understood. The objective of this study is to provide data on the prevalence and genetic characteristics of MRSA isolated from horses on farms, at racecourses, and at slaughterhouses in Italy, using standard and molecular methods. In addition, we report the prevalence of MRSA in horse handlers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The capability to produce biofilm is an important persistence and dissemination mechanism of some foodborne bacteria. This paper investigates the relationship between some molecular characteristics (SCCmec, ST, spa-type, agr-type, cna, sarA, icaA, icaD, clfA, fnbA, fnbB, hla, hlb) of 22 food-related methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains and their ability to form biofilm on stainless steel and polystyrene. Five (22.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper assesses the prevalence of MRSA in bulk tank milk (BTM) samples from southern Italy, and the relationship between the Coagulase Positive Staphylococci count (CPS) and MRSA prevalence. Of 486 BTM samples tested, 12 samples (2.5%) resulted positive for the presence of MRSA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHistorically, genome-wide and molecular characterization of the genus Listeria has concentrated on the important human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes and a small number of closely related species, together termed Listeria sensu strictu. More recently, a number of genome sequences for more basal, and nonpathogenic, members of the Listeria genus have become available, facilitating a wider perspective on the evolution of pathogenicity and genome level evolutionary dynamics within the entire genus (termed Listeria sensu lato). Here, we have sequenced the genomes of additional Listeria fleischmannii and Listeria newyorkensis isolates and explored the dynamics of genome evolution in Listeria sensu lato.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere we announce the draft genome sequences of 6 Listeria monocytogenes strains from ricotta cheese produced in a dairy processing plant located in southern Italy and potentially involved in a multistate outbreak of listeriosis in the United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStandardized tools for typing Listeria monocytogenes isolates are required in epidemiological surveys investigating food-borne disease outbreaks and in the food-processing environment to identify the sources of contamination and routes by which the organisms are spread. In this survey Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) and Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) have been used to study 103 L. monocytogenes isolates from food and environmental sources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol
November 2008
Aims: To determine the variability of the prion protein gene (PRNP) in goats from Northern and Southern Italy.
Methods And Results: Genomic DNA isolated from goat blood was polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified for the coding region of the PRNP gene and then sequenced. In total, 13 polymorphic sites were identified: G37V, T110P, G127S, M137I, I142M, I142T, H143R, R154H, P168Q, T194P, R211Q, Q222K and S240P (substitutions I142T and T194P are novel) giving rise to 14 haplotypes.
Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen that causes gastrointestinal disorders, and, especially in immunocompromised people, serious extraintestinal diseases, such as septicemia and meningitis, as well as abortion in pregnant women. Many foods, from both plant and animal origin, have been involved in listeriosis outbreaks. This article reports the results of a 12-year survey (1993 through 2004) on the presence of L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStaphylococcus aureus is considered to be one of the leading causes of food-borne illnesses. Milk, dairy products and meats are often contaminated with enterotoxigenic strains of this bacterium. Foodstuff contamination may occur directly from infected food-producing animals or may result from poor hygiene during production processes, or the retail and storage of foods, since humans may carry the microorganism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe demonstration of serological cross-reactivity between the Hypoderma lineatum antigen and anti-Przhevalskiana silenus antibodies led us to prepare an immunological test (ELISA) for an early diagnosis of goat warble fly infestation. Using the Hypodermosis ELISA-Kit (Vétoquinol Diagnostic, France) produced for the immunodiagnosis of bovine hypodermosis, an epidemiological assay was carried out in Basilicata region where goat breeding is very common and no data are reported with regards to the distribution of goat warble fly infestation. Out of a total of 1,100 flocks and 41,200 goats, 105 randomly extracted flocks proved to be infected and 262 sera out of 1,316 were positive; goat warble fly infestation proved to be present in Basilicata with values similar to those recorded in the surrounding regions (Apulia and Calabria).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe investigation was carried out in Basilicata region (Southern Italy) from October 1997 to June 1998. Fifteen dairy cows bred in semiconfined conditions on a farm with a history of hypodermosis were sampled once a month for sera and milk; bulk milk from these animals was also collected monthly from the farm's tanker. Samples were tested for anti-Hypoderma spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Epidemiol
December 1990
Trichinellosis is a zoonotic infection and has a worldwide distribution. In Italy numerous sporadic cases and outbreaks of human trichinellosis have been reported. The authors report an epidemiological survey of trichinellosis in Apulia and Basilicata, two regions of southern Italy, where two outbreaks of human trichinellosi (about one hundred cases) have recently occurred, due to ingestion of wild boar meat (sausages).
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