ABSTRACT
Diarrheal infection is the second leading infectious disease that is killing children under the age of 5 years. This study investigates the microbial community within a fecal sample from a diarrhea-affected child through shotgun metagenomic sequencing.
ABSTRACT
Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus is an opportunistic human pathogen that is frequently identified as a cause of intestinal infections as well as bloodstream infections. This bacterium is well known to cause spontaneous abortions in sheep and cows. The strain reported in this study was isolated from a preputial wash sample from a bull in South Africa.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Pigeon feces are increasingly being implicated in the spread of bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, and Chlamydia. Fungi are rarely investigated except for Cryptococcus that has emerged as an important pathogen in old people and immunosuppressed patients. This study investigated fungi in pigeon feces collected from Mafikeng, the North West Province of South Africa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Freshly dropped feces were collected and enriched in phosphate-buffered saline overnight at 48°C and then subcultured on Sabouraud's dextrose agar and incubated at 48°C for 2 weeks observing any fungal growth from day 2. The growths were picked up, DNA extracted, and polymerase chain reaction was done using the internal transcribed spacer primers. RESULTS: Fungi isolated included: Aspergillus (Aspergillus tubingensis), Cryptococcus (Cryptococcus albidus and Cryptococcus randhawai), Fusarium spp., and Rhodotorula (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Rhodotorula kratochvilovae). Most of these isolates are known opportunistic pathogens and have been isolated in clinical conditions elsewhere. Other isolates such as Graphium dubautiae, Myrmecridium schulzeri, Naganishia albida, Paecilomyces lilacinus, and Zygopleurage zygospora were not found to be of any human health significance. CONCLUSION: We, therefore, concluded that the presence of these opportunistic pathogens is a significant human health risk, especially in the face of the HIV/AIDS pandemic that results in immunosuppression.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The consumption of food contaminated with microbial populations remains a key route of foodborne infection in developing countries and creates a serious public health burden. This study aimed at identifying foodborne pathogens and their antibiotic resistance profiles in ready-to-eat meat sold in public eateries in the Johannesburg area. A total of 115 samples were examined for the incidence of bacteria pathogens and their antibiotic resistance profiles against commonly used antibiotics (ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, streptomycin, and sulphonamides) using the molecular and the disc diffusion methods. Fifteen bacteria species were detected in the samples. Staphylococcus aureus had the highest prevalence (25%), and 53.33% of the isolates exhibited multidrug resistance to the antibiotics tested. Among the isolated bacteria, S. aureus; was resistant to at least six antimicrobial agents, whereas 100% of S. aureus,Enterococcus faecalis, and Planomicrobium glaciei were resistant to streptomycin, ciprofloxacin, and chloramphenicol, respectively. This study revealed that a wide diversity of bacteria species contaminate meat sold on the street, which indicates that consumers of ready-to-eat meat sold in public eateries are at risk of food poisoning. Hence, strict intervention strategies should be put in place by government agencies to reduce the menace of food poisoning in the country. HIGHLIGHTS: RTE meats were analyzed for microbial contamination. Foodborne pathogens were detected in the meat samples. Antibiotic resistance profiles were tested. RTE meats contain foodborne pathogens, and isolates exhibited antibiotic resistance. Consumers of RTE meat in the Johannesburg CBD are at risk of food poisoning.
