[New awareness for zoonoses using the example of rat bite fever : Case report and literature review]. / Neue Achtsamkeit für Zoonosen am Beispiel Rattenbissfieber : Fallbericht und Literaturübersicht.

BACKGROUND: Rat bite fever is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial zoonosis. The symptoms can be unspecific, but severe sepsis can be associated with involvement of different organs. CASE REPORT: A 27-year-old homeless man presented with fever, suspected meningitis, acute renal failure, unclear skin lesions as well as joint problems and muscular pain. Bite wounds were not detected. Meningitis could be excluded after lumbar puncture, and there was no evidence of endocarditis as the cause of the skin lesions. After 72 h, growth of Streptobacillus moniliformis in blood cultures was detected. Clinical symptoms were compatible with the diagnosis of rat bite fever. Calculated antibiosis with ampicillin sulbactam and doxycycline led to regression of the symptoms. CONCLUSION: Rat bite fever poses a diagnostic challenge due unspecific symptoms, diverse differential diagnostic options, and challenging microbiological detection. Patient history is of the utmost importance. Due to the rarity of the disease, this case report is intended to raise awareness.

Beef shelf life in low O(2) and high CO(2) atmospheres containing different low CO concentrations.

The use of atmospheres with low concentrations of CO (0.1 to 1%), in combination with O(2) (24%), high CO(2) (50%) and N(2) (25 to 25.9%), for preserving chilled beef steaks was investigated. The atmosphere used as reference contained 70% O(2)+20% CO(2)+10% N(2). Bacterial counts showed that all atmospheres containing CO greatly reduced total aerobic population numbers, including Brochothrix thermosphacta. Lactic acid bacteria, however, were not affected. CO concentrations of 0.5-0.75% were able to extend shelf life by 5-10 days at 1±1°C, as demonstrated by delayed metmyoglobin formation (less than 40% of total myoglobin after 29 days of storage), stabilisation of red colour (no change of CIE a* and hue angle after 23 days), maintenance of fresh meat odour (no variation of sensory score after 24 days) and significant (P<0.01) slowing of oxidative reactions (TBARS).

Textural assessment of clenbuterol treatment in beef.

Eight Charolais heifers (ca. 300 kg) were fed a diet containing either 0 (control) or 1 ppm clenbuterol during 5 weeks. Daily live weight gain was higher (p<0.01), by about 34%, in treated animals. They were slaughtered after a week of withdrawal. Activity of µ-calpain of meat from clenbuterol-fed heifers was lower (p<0.01) immediately post mortem, while activity of calpastatin was higher (p<0.05) than in meat from controls. According to sensory and instrumental data, meat from clenbuterol-fed heifers did not tenderise during aging, and was tougher (p<0.05) than control meat at 8th day post mortem. Both principal component analysis and multivariate discriminant analysis of a pool of data of the textural profile showed differences due to clenbuterol treatment at 24 h. The slope after yield (calculated from the Warner-Bratzler shearing force-deformation curve), was the only textural parameter affected (p<0.05) at 24 h by the treatment.

Shelf-life extension and colour stabilisation of beef packaged in a low O(2) atmosphere containing CO: Loin steaks and ground meat.

A combination of low O(2), high CO(2) and very low CO was investigated for packaging fresh beef steaks and ground meat. The following atmospheres were used: 70% O(2) + 20% CO(2) + 10% N(2) (CMA); 70% O(2) + 20% CO(2) + 9% N(2) + 1% CO (HOCO) and 24% O(2) + 50% CO(2) + 25% N(2) + 1% CO (LOCO). Bacterial counts showed that LOCO atmosphere greatly reduced psychrotrophic population, so that log cfu cm(-2) was under 7.5 at 29 days of storage at 1 °C. All the objective measurements related to meat colour (a(∗), hue, Chroma and metmyoglobin concentration) revealed that the bright-red colour was more stable in both HOCO and LOCO atmospheres, reaching 29 days of storage without appreciable signs of oxidation. Sensory analysis confirmed these results.