Research Publications (Food Safety)

Meat-borne parasitic zoonoses are generally not well-monitored, and so understanding extent and overall prevalence is problematic. Without sufficient attention, their prevalence can become unexpectedly and unacceptably high. This review sheds light on meat-borne parasites in the Arab world, which includes all the Arab countries situated in the continents of Asia and Africa, with more than 400 million inhabitants distributed in 22 countries.

Author(s): Shani Craighead, Runze Huang, Haiqiang Chen, Kalmia E. Kniel

Cryptosporidium is an important intestinal protozoan parasite that causes diarrhoea in humans and animals. To rapidly and specifically detect Cryptosporidium spp., we designed a pair of primers based on the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene of Cryptosporidium spp. to be used in a new nanoparticle-assisted PCR (nano-PCR) assay.

Cryptosporidium parvum is a major zoonotic pathogen responsible for outbreaks of severe diarrhea in humans and calves. Almost all investigations of cryptosporidiosis outbreaks caused by C. parvum have focused on its IIa subtype family in industrialized nations. From December 2018 to April 2019, approximately 200 neonatal calves on a large cattle farm in Hebei Province, China were diagnosed with watery diarrhea and over 40 died.

The objective of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the effect of bovine coronavirus (BCoV), bovine rotavirus (BRoV), and Cryptosporidium parvum on dairy calf health and performance and to determine the prevalence of these pathogens. A total of 198 male dairy calves housed at a grain-fed veal facility were examined from June 11, 2018, to October 9, 2018. Calves were fed milk replacer twice daily and housed individually until weaning at 56 d.

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are two important zoonotic intestinal protozoa responsible for diarrheal diseases in humans and animals worldwide. Feces from infected hosts, water and food contaminated by Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts as well as predictors such as poverty have been involved in their transmission. Myanmar is one of the world’s most impoverished countries. To date, there are few epidemiological studies of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in humans.

Cryptosporidium is a common enteric parasite that primarily affects those immunocompromised susceptible individuals and newborns. Detailed investigations have revealed that Cryptosporidium (C.) oocysts contain dsRNA segments which are recently classified under the Partitiviridae family. The relationship between parasite and virus whether or not affect the clinical outcomes of newborn calf diarrhoea is not apparent.

This study focuses on foodborne outbreaks of microbial infection associated with fresh produce in Europe and North America from this millennium. A total of 277 outbreaks with 44,524 individual cases were identified. Foodborne pathogens associated with the most outbreak frequency include Cryptosporidium (20.5%) in Europe and Salmonella (52.2%) in North America although Norovirus (54.3%) and Salmonella (61.3%) were associated with the number of cases in Europe and North America respectively.

ABSTRACT

Author(s): Hichem Dahmani, Nassim Ouchene, Ali Dahmani, Nadjet Amina Ouchene-Khelifi

ABSTRACT Aims To determine inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts and reduction of Escherichia coli and enterococci in cattle slurry added aqueous ammonia. Methods and Results Escherichia coli, enterococci and non‐viable C. parvum oocysts (DAPI+ PI+) were enumerated every second day for two weeks in cattle slurry amended with 60 mmol l‐1 aq. ammonia and compared with untreated slurry at three temperatures. Regardless of temperature, the proportion of non‐viable C.

An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis among veterinary students performing fetotomy exercises on euthanized calves took place in September 2018 in Denmark. A prospective cohort investigation was performed to identify risk factors and provide guidance for preventing outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis in this setting. Ninety-seven students attended the fetotomy exercises and completed a questionnaire about symptoms and potential risk behavior. Real-time PCR was used to detect Cryptosporidium spp.

Novel antiparasitic activity was observed for the antifungal occidiofungin. It efficaciously and irreversibly inhibited the zoonotic enteric parasite Cryptosporidium parvum in vitro with limited cytotoxicity (50% effective concentration [EC50] = 120 nM versus 50% cytotoxic concentration [TC50] = 988 nM), and its application disrupted the parasite morphology. This study expands the spectrum of activity of a glycolipopeptide named occidiofungin.

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) can be a severe threat to immunocompromised patients. This is particularly true for those undergoing chemotherapy and hemodialysis. The present research is aimed at identifying intestinal parasites that might be present in immunocompromised patients. In this cross-sectional study 1040 stool samples were collected from March to September 2017.

ABSTRACT

Foodborne diseases (FBDs) are a major concern worldwide since they are associated with high mortality and morbidity in the human population. Among the causative agents of FBDs, Taenia solium, Echinococcus granulosus, Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium spp., and Trichinella spiralis are listed in the top global risk ranking of foodborne parasites.

The Florida Complaint and Outbreak Reporting System (FL-CORS) database is used by the Florida Department of Health’s Food and Waterborne Disease Program (FWDP) as one of the tools to detect foodborne disease outbreaks. We present a descriptive and spatial network analysis of the FL-CORS data collected during 2015-2018.

by Roberta M. O’Connor, Felix J. Nepveux V, Jaypee Abenoja, Gregory Bowden, Patricia Reis, Josiah Beaushaw, Rachel M. Bone Relat, Iwona Driskell, Fernanda Gimenez, Michael W. Riggs, Deborah A. Schaefer, Eric W. Schmidt, Zhenjian Lin, Daniel L. Distel, Jon Clardy, Timothy R. Ramadhar, David R. Allred, Heather M. Fritz, Pradipsinh Rathod, Laura Chery, John White

To identify the free‐living amoeba (FLA) and amoeba resistant bacteria (ARB) accumulated in zebra mussels and in the water in which they are found, mussels were collected at two locations in the Ebro river basin (North East Spain). Free‐living amoebas and bacteria were isolated from mussel extracts and from natural water.

ABSTRACT

Author(s): D. Kostopoulou, E. Claerebout, D. Arvanitis, P. Ligda, S. Casaert, S. Sotiraki

High prevalences of Cryptosporidium and Giardia were recently found in enteric illness patients in the Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut, Canada, with a foodborne, waterborne or animal source of parasites suspected. Clams (Mya truncata) are a commonly consumed, culturally important and nutritious country food in Iqaluit; however, shellfish may concentrate protozoan pathogens from contaminated waters.

Bertiella sp. is a typical parasite in non-human primates and only a few cases of bertiellosis have been reported in humans. We present a new case study of bertiellosis in a 42-year-old woman caretaker of howler monkeys in a wild rehabilitation center in Argentina. Bertiella sp. infection was also diagnosed in the monkeys.

Author(s): Panagiota Ligda, Edwin Claerebout, Stijn Casaert, Lucy J. Robertson, Smaragda Sotiraki

Author(s): Tamirat Tefera Temesgen, Alessandra Barlaam, Kristoffer R. Tysnes, Lucy J. Robertson