ABSTRACT
The beta-lactamases produced by 14 non-duplicate Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates and five Escherichia coli isolates from urine samples obtained from outpatients were characterised by isoelectric focusing, substrate profile determination, PCR and sequencing of bla(SHV) genes. Three E. coli A15 R(+) transconjugants were identified as isolates that produced SHV-5 beta-lactamase. This report is the first description of SHV-5 beta-lactamase among community isolates. Since the isolates showed distinct pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns, it was concluded that there was no clonal spread of bla(TEM) and bla(SHV) genes, and that dissemination of the bla(TEM) and bla(SHV) genes was the result of exchange of plasmids among different clones.
Subject(s)
Urinary Tract Infections/epidemiology , beta-Lactamases/metabolism , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Bosnia and Herzegovina/epidemiology , Child , Child, Preschool , Community-Acquired Infections/epidemiology , Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial , Escherichia coli/drug effects , Escherichia coli/enzymology , Escherichia coli/genetics , Escherichia coli Infections/drug therapy , Escherichia coli Infections/enzymology , Female , Humans , Infant , Klebsiella Infections/drug therapy , Klebsiella Infections/enzymology , Klebsiella pneumoniae/drug effects , Klebsiella pneumoniae/enzymology , Klebsiella pneumoniae/genetics , Male , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Middle Aged , Urinary Tract Infections/drug therapy , Urinary Tract Infections/microbiology , beta-Lactamases/geneticsABSTRACT
Thermotolerant Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are one of the major causes of bacterial foodborne enteric infection. Consuming and/or handling poultry meat is the most consistent risk factor, linked to the high prevalence of campylobacters in retail poultry meat. The aim of the present study was to ascertain the genetic diversity and/or possible specificity of thermotolerant Campylobacter isolates according to species (C. coli, C. jejuni), isolation source (retail chicken meat and human clinical samples) and geographic origin (Goriska in Slovenia and Zenica-Doboj Canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH)). With the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) after SmaI macrorestriction we distinguished 80 PFGE types among 118 strains and CfoI restriction fragment length polymorphism of the amplified flagellin gene (fla-RFLP) gave 12 fla-RFLP types. Beside the higher discriminatory power and strain typeability, PFGE discriminated the C. jejuni and C. coli groups of isolates. A high proportion of C. coli strains was isolated, especially from poultry samples. Identical or very similar PFGE types among the isolates from animal, food and human samples indicate the transmission of C. jejuni and C. coli from the chickens on the farm to the retail chicken meat, as well as possible cross-contamination of retail meat and transmission to humans. However, the identity of the isolates from non-related samples but with identical PFGE and fla-RFLP types should be confirmed with additional typing. Reliable tracing of the source of Campylobacter strains by molecular typing of the chicken meat isolates is therefore very difficult. The reasons include contamination of meat samples with multiple strains, possible cross-contamination and extreme heterogeneity of the isolates (mainly for C. jejuni) on one side and a limited power of the genotyping methods used to distinguish non-related strains on the other side (mainly for C. coli).
Subject(s)
Campylobacter Infections/microbiology , Campylobacter coli/genetics , Campylobacter jejuni/genetics , Food Contamination , Meat/microbiology , Animals , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Campylobacter Infections/transmission , Campylobacter coli/classification , Campylobacter coli/isolation & purification , Campylobacter jejuni/classification , Campylobacter jejuni/isolation & purification , Chickens , Consumer Product Safety , Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field , Food Contamination/analysis , Food Microbiology , Genotype , Humans , Phylogeny , Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length , Poultry Diseases/microbiology , Poultry Diseases/transmission , Slovenia , Species SpecificityABSTRACT
In the Zenica-Doboj Canton, 1106 hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections were reported during 2000 (an incidence rate of 252/100 000 population), with 996 (90.1%) cases occurring in nine community-wide outbreaks. Analysis of water supplies showed that 398 (19.1%) samples contained coliforms, including 202 (50.8%) that were contaminated with thermotolerant Escherichia coli. Sewage sanitation systems were absent or substandard in 53 910 (81.8%) rural households. The group most affected during outbreaks comprised children aged 7-14 years (incidence rate of 598/100 000). The development of health promotion and prevention initiatives in schools, combined with rigorous hygiene measures, will be necessary to achieve control of the spread of HAV.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis A/etiology , Bosnia and Herzegovina/epidemiology , Hepatitis A/epidemiology , Hepatitis A/prevention & control , Humans , Incidence , Risk Factors , Sanitation , Sewage , Water Supply/standardsABSTRACT
A comprehensive retrospective analysis of human Salmonella Enteritidis isolates in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina was conducted by inquiry and questionnaire. In the period 1998-2000, 299 isolates of Salmonella spp. were recorded, of which S. Enteritidis accounted for 74.2%. The isolation rate of S. Enteritidis increased during this period, from 12.7 to 25.5 isolates/year/100,000 population. Isolates were obtained all year round, mostly from sporadic cases of infection or limited family outbreaks. Home-made food was identified as the most important source of infection, being implicated in 81% of outbreaks and 81.7% of cases of sporadic infection.
