Evaluation of antibiotic resistance of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from edible snails

Aims@#Food safety and drug resistance in bacteria are both important issues globally. Consumption of escargot represents possible food safety problem especially when contaminated with an indicator and multi-drug resistant bacteria. Hence, this study aimed to identify and evaluate susceptibility of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from edible snails Archachatina marginata to antibiotics.@*Methodology and results@# A total of 60 edible snails, A. marginata were purchased from local markets in three states of Nigeria. The edible snails were starved for three days and Enterobacteriaceae were isolated using microbiological procedures. Bacteria was identified by sequencing its partial 16S rRNA, while susceptibility of the bacteria to antibiotic was determined by disc diffusion method. Enterobacteriaceae obtained were Klebsiella (18), Escherichia (16), Citrobacter (10), Salmonella (7) and Enterobacter (5) species. Out of the 56 isolates obtained, 21 (37.5%) were resistant to amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 9 (16.07%) were resistant to tetracycline and 4 (7.14%) were resistant to co-trimoxazole. @*Conclusion, significance and impact of study@#The number of isolates which show resistant to different antibiotic classes was small. However, coliform bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii, and Enterobacter cloacae) isolated from edible snails represent a huge food safety risk to the consumers of edible snails. Hence, high hygienic practices are required for the consumers of edible snails to prevent infection with pathogenic bacteria.

Efeito da endogamia sobre a sobrevivência e a longevidade no escargot da espécie helix aspersa / Effect of inbreeding on viability and longevity of edible snail helix aspersa

Estudou-se o efeito da endogamia sobre as características sobrevivência (intervalos de 0-30; 30-60; 60-90 e 90-120 dias) e longevidade do escargot da espécie Helix aspersa em três gerações consecutivas de acasalamentos entre irmãos perfeitos. Os animais foram criados em laboratório com temperatura entre 20 e 25ºC e umidade relativa entre 70 a 90 por cento. O menor percentual de sobrevivência ocorreu no primeiro intervalo, mas, com o aumento da endogamia, observou-se diminuição na sobrevivência nos quatro intervalos testados. A longevidade média foi de 314 e 306 dias para as gerações um e três, respectivamente, não tendo sido observados animais em hibernação. O estudo de simulação para o caráter sobrevivência, em função do coeficiente de endogamia, indicou que se deve iniciar uma criação com, pelo menos, 100 reprodutores não aparentados.

The effect of inbreeding on longevity and viability (intervals of 0-30, 30-60, 60-90, and 90-120 days of birth) in three consecutive generations of full sibs of escargot Helix aspersa raised under laboratory conditions (20-25ºC temperature; 70-90 percent relative humidity) was studied. Inbreeding effects decreased the viability for all the studied intervals. The longevity means were 314 and 306 days, respectively to the first and third generations. Hibernating animals were not observed. Population size of at least 100 non-related mating escargots replaced after 10 generations to avoid inbreeding effect is recommended.