ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Acute gastroenteritis associated with fish has been reported since 1951 but is gaining importance with increase in fish consumption in Kenya. The causative agent is Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The importance of this organism is increasing due to the rise in the incidence of outbreaks of food poisoning related to it. OBJECTIVE: To isolate and characterise local strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from sea and fresh-water fish. DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: Three lakes, a river, a dam and the Kenyan coastline. SUBJECTS: Water and fish samples collected from the study sites. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Isolation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus on glucose-salt-teepol broth (GTSB), and triphenyltetrazolium chloride soya tryptone (TSAT) and several biochemical media, testing the pathogenicity for the isolates by Kanagawa phenomenon and testing the plasmids profiles, coagglutination sensitivity to antimicrobial substance using standard methods. RESULTS: Twenty nine isolates (4%) were obtained from a total of 666 samples screened, twenty seven of which were isolated from 62 coastal samples. They were Kanagawa negative although their plasmid profiles and sensitivity to antimicrobials varied. CONCLUSION: There is need to recognise V. parahaemolyticus as a potential problem due to the increase in consumption of fish as an alternative source of protein.
Subject(s)
Fishes/microbiology , Vibrio parahaemolyticus/isolation & purification , Animals , Food Microbiology , Humans , Kenya , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) isolates from beef carcasses, minced beef, and dressed chicken were assayed for production of enterotoxin A, B, C and D using reverse passive agglutination technique. The highest isolation rate was from chickens followed by minced beef. Chickens yielded the highest percentage of enterotoxigenic strains. Staphylococcal enterotoxin C (SEC) was the most frequently produced type from all the three sources while enterotoxin A ranked second and enterotoxin B third. These data show that chickens and minced beef are potential sources of food poisoning staphylococci in Kenya, and that increased handling of the products increases contamination suggesting that man is the major source.
Subject(s)
Food Microbiology , Meat/microbiology , Poultry/microbiology , Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification , Agglutination Tests , Animals , Cattle , Chickens , Enterotoxins/classification , Food Handling/standards , Food Inspection , Kenya , Staphylococcus aureus/classificationABSTRACT
Staphylococcus aureus strains were isolated from 183 of 300 raw milk samples collected at the Kenya Co-operative Creamery (Dandora). 97 of these 183 trains were assayed for the production of enterotoxin A, B, C and D. Seventy two (74.2%) of these were found to produce either a single or a combination of enterotoxins. Raw milk is a potential source of enterotoxigenic S. aureus in milk and milk products, especially if there is defective pasteurisation.
