ABSTRACT
Escherichia coli O157: H7 is one of the most important foodborne pathogens nowadays, since it has been responsible for severe outbreaks worldwide. Event hough this food pathogen has been isolated in many countries, Brazilian foods were considered E. coli O157:H7-free until recently. However, the presence of E. coli O157:H7 has been reported in diverse foods produced in Brazil and an increasing number of isolation from cattle feces has been observed, demonstrating that this pathogen is present in different parts of Brazil, and severe foodborne outbreaks mayoccur in the near future if adequate control measures are not implemented
Subject(s)
Humans , Disease Transmission, Infectious , Escherichia coli O157/pathogenicity , Escherichia coli Infections/diagnosis , Escherichia coli Infections/epidemiology , Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome/nursing , Food Contamination , Escherichia coli Infections/ethnology , Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome/etiologyABSTRACT
Little information about Shigella responsible for foodborne shigellosis is available in Brazil. The present study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance and PCR-ribotyping patterns of Shigella isolates responsible for foodborne outbreaks occurred in Rio Grande do Sul State (RS), Southern Brazil in the period between 2003 and 2007. Shigella strains (n=152) were isolated from foods and fecal samples of victims of shigellosis outbreaks investigated by the Surveillance Service. Identification of the strains at specie level indicated that 71.1 percent of them were S. flexneri, 21.5 percent S. sonnei, and 0.7 percent S. dysenteriae. Ten strains (6.7 percent) were identified only as Shigella spp. An increasing occurrence of S. sonnei was observed after 2004. Most of the strains were resistant to streptomycin (88.6 percent), followed by ampicillin (84.6 percent), and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (80.5 percent). Resistant strains belonged to 73 patterns, and pattern A (resistance to ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, tetracycline, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and intermediate resistance to kanamycin) grouped the largest number of isolates (n=36). PCR-ribotyping identified three banding patterns (SH1, SH2, and SH3). SH1 grouped all S. flexneri and SH2 grouped all S. sonnei. The S. dysenteriae strain belonged to group SH3. According to the results, several Shigella isolates shared the same PCR-rybotyping banding pattern and the same resistance profile, suggesting that closely related strains were responsible for the outbreaks. However, other molecular typing methods need to be applied to confirm the clonal relationship of these isolates.
ABSTRACT
Doenças Transmitidas por Alimentos (DTA) compõem um grave problema de saúde pública em nível mundial. A análise crítica e a divulgação dos principais aspectos relacionados das DTA pode ser um importante fator para a prevenção dessas doenças. O presente estudo realizou uma breve revisão sobre as DTA, objetivando contribuir para um melhor entendimento de alguns dos seus principais agentes etiológicos, identificando os alimentos comumente envolvidos nos surtos, os fatores causais mais significativos, assim como as características e impactos sociais relacionados a essas doenças.
Foodborne Diseases (FBD) comprises a serious public health problem worldwide. Critical analysis of the main aspects of FBD may be an important factor for preventing these diseases. This study is a brief review of the FBD in order to provide a better understanding of the main etiologic agents, identifying the foods commonly associated with outbreaks, the most significant causal factors, as well as the characteristics and social impacts related to these diseases.