While the effects of food poisoning are usually not life-threatening, they can be very unpleasant and result in additional health conditions that require medical attention. Some patients may be at risk for more serious complications depending on their overall health condition and the type of bacteria or virus causing the illness.
Food poisoning is a common, yet potentially serious environmental health issue. The occurrence of food poisoning can be reduced by following some simple rules while preparing, cooking, and serving food.
The most common causes of food poisoning are bacteria, viruses, or parasites that are present in foods that are contaminated with human or animal feces or their toxins. Most of the food poisoning cases are due to the consumption of foods that have not been thoroughly cooked or properly stored.
All these micro-organisms that cause food poisoning can be killed if they are exposed to adequate heat for a sufficient time, as in cooking or pasteurization.
University of Queensland researchers have unlocked a way of fighting Listeria infections, which can cause severe illness in pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.
During the study, researchers discovered a way to block Listeria from making the proteins that allow bacteria to survive and multiply in immune cells.
UQ Diamantina Institute’s Professor Antje Blumenthal said using a small, drug-like inhibitor has improved their understanding of the Achilles heel of Listeria.
“Listeria is found in the soil and sometimes in raw foods. Once ingested it can hide from the immune system and multiply inside immune cells,” Professor Blumenthal said.
“Instead of killing the bacteria, the immune cells are used by the bacteria to multiply and are often killed by Listeria growing inside them.
“Our study showed the bacteria could be cleared with a small drug-like inhibitor that targets the ‘master regulator’ of the proteins that help Listeria grow in immune cells. The inhibitor helped the immune cells survive infection and kill the bacteria.”
Until now, studies into the ‘master regulator’ – which controls critical proteins that make Listeria virulent – have mostly been based on engineered bacteria, or mutated versions of these proteins.
“By using a drug-like inhibitor, we were able to use molecular imaging and infections studies to better understand what happens to Listeria when the bacteria cannot effectively grow inside immune cells and hide from immune defence mechanisms,” Professor Blumenthal said.
“We hope that our discovery, together with recent research into the master proteins’ molecular structure and functions, could guide the development of inhibitors and new drugs to treat Listeria infection.”
Listeria infection does not cause disease in most people, but can be deadly for the immunocompromised and is also a major health concern during pregnancy and can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.
“Our findings could also inform design of inhibitors against related proteins that are found in different bacteria,” Professor Blumenthal said.
The study has been published in the journal PLOS Pathogens (DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010166).
This study, led by researchers at The UQ Diamantina Institute, included collaborations with Umeå University, Sweden; UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences; Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre; Institute for Molecular Bioscience; Mater Research Institute; Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia; Monash University; University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Hudson Institute of Medical Research.
Media: PRofessor Antji Blumenthal, a.blumenthal@uq.edu.au; UQ Communications, Angie Trivisonno, med.media@uq.edu.au, +61 (0)7 3365 5118, +61 (0)436 368 746.
A joyful party ended in a hospital visit for 34 guests due to food poisoning.
The party took place on January 21 at a water treatment plant in Snom Prampi Village, Mak Prang Commune, Teuk Chhou District, Kampot.
According to the authorities at around 6 p.m. there were reports of mass food poisoning. The party was reportedly hosted by the water treatment plant. After the report came to the authorities, those suffering were sent to the hospital to be treated. A total of 34 people ended up in the emergency room.
Authorities said that 26 of the victims were admitted to Kampot Provincial Referral Hospital and eight other people were sent to a private clinic for treatment. As of January 22, all victims have recovered.
RICHMOND, Va. —Health officials announced Saturday night that a release of partially treated sewage has closed all shellfish harvesting in Upper Machodoc Creek in King George County.
As a result, shellfish, which include bivalve mollusks like oysters and clams, from impacted areas are not safe to eat because of “potential microbiological pollution hazards,” officials with the Virginia Department of Health said.
The risk of foodborne parasite infection linked to the consumption of contaminated fresh produce has long been known. However, despite epidemiological links between the outbreaks and contaminated berries, few studies have assessed the magnitude of parasite contamination on fresh produce sold in Europe. The present study was aimed to address the knowledge gap on parasite contamination of berries sold in Norway. Samples of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries were analysed by multiplex qPCR for detection of Echinococcus multilocularis, Toxoplasma gondii, and Cyclospora cayetanensis. In addition, a simplex qPCR method was employed for detecting contamination of the berries with Cryptosporidium spp. A total of 820 samples of berries, each of around 30 g (274 samples of blueberries, 276 samples of raspberries, and 270 samples of strawberries), were analysed. We found an overall occurrence of 2.9%, 6.6%, and 8.3% for T. gondii, C. cayetanensis, and Cryptosporidium spp., respectively, whereas E. multilocularis was not detected from any of the samples investigated. Strawberries and raspberries were most often contaminated with Cryptosporidium spp., whereas blueberries were contaminated mostly with C. cayetanensis. Detection of parasite contaminants on fresh berries indicates the need for a system to ensure the parasitological safety of fresh berries.
Posted in Contaminated water, Cryptosporidiosis, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Cyclosporiasis, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Parasite, Protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, Toxoplasmosis, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
Background: The aim of the study was to determine whether free-living birds belonging to game species whose meat is used for human consumption can constitute a reservoir of pathogenic Campylobacter strains, spreading these bacteria to other hosts or directly contributing to human infection. Methods: A total of 91 cloacal swabs were taken from different species of wildlife waterfowl to estimate the Campylobacter prevalence, the genetic diversity of the isolates, and the presence of virulence genes and to evaluate the antimicrobial resistance. Results: The presence of Campylobacter spp. was confirmed in 32.9% of samples. Based on flaA-SVR sequencing, a total of 19 different alleles among the tested Campylobacter isolates were revealed. The virulence genes involved in adhesion were detected at high frequencies among Campylobacter isolates regardless of the host species. The highest resistance was observed for ciprofloxacin. The resistance rates to erythromycin and tetracycline were observed at the same level. Conclusions: These results suggest that wildlife waterfowl belonging to game species may constitute a reservoir of Campylobacter, spreading these bacteria to other hosts or directly contributing to human disease. The high distribution of virulence-associated genes among wildlife waterfowl Campylobacter isolates make them potentially able to induce infection in humans.
The presence of Listeria and Salmonella bacteria in food processing workshops poses several problems: these bacteria that are pathogenic for humans are capable of persisting for a long time in the environment and of resisting treatment with biocidal products. The Actia Fastypers Joint Technological Unit (UMT) has just been created by the Ministry of Agriculture for five years, in order to work on these issues. It brings together research teams (Anses, Inrae) and agro-industrial technical institutes (Actalia – dairy sector and the Pork Institute (IFIP)).
Salmonella and Listeria are two bacteria of animal origin, responsible for illnesses in humans and transmitted by food. They can persist for several months in natural and agricultural environments, as well as in food processing workshops. In addition, some strains may be resistant to treatment with disinfection products. The work of the UMT Actia Fastypers aims on the one hand to understand the mechanisms by which these bacteria manage to adapt and persist in the external environment, including in agri-food workshops, and on the other hand to develop tools to characterize and detectthese persistent bacterial strains. This work will be carried out jointly in the pork sector and the milk sector.
Two ANSES units will be involved in the UMT: the Salmonella and Listeria unit of the Food Safety Laboratory and the Antibiotics, Biocides, Residues and Resistance Unit of the Fougères Laboratory. The first will provide its expertise in the genomic characterization of strains, in order to identify which genotype is associated with the characteristics studied (resistance to heavy metals, persistence in the environment, virulence, etc.). The second will study the adaptation and resistance of bacteria to the biocidal cleaning products used. This work will be linked to the joint technological network Chlean, devoted to the hygiene of equipment in the food industry, in which the two laboratories are already involved.
The goal of the UMT is to develop tools that can be used routinely by producers and food manufacturers to identify the strains of bacteria present at the different stages of food production, from breeding to finished products. ” It’s about optimizing and simplifying the tools we have for research, to enable technical institutes to identify both the virulence and persistence capacity of strains simply by harvesting bacteria from surfaces. using sampling swabs. », explains Sophie Roussel, co-host of the UMT and scientist of the food safety laboratory. These analyzes aim toadapt the cleaning and disinfection process to the characteristics of the bacterial strains likely to be found in agro-industrial environments, for example by using the most effective disinfectant products against the bacteria present in these factories.
Although you can comment on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 10.115(g)(5)), to ensure that the FDA considers your comment on a draft guidance before it begins work on the final version of the guidance, submit either online or written comments on the draft guidance before the close date.
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The purpose of this compliance policy guide (CPG) is to provide guidance for FDA staff on adulteration associated with decomposition and/or histamine identified during surveillance sampling and testing of fish and fishery products susceptible to histamine formation.
The current CPG Sec. 540.525 is being revised to update FDA regulatory action guidance for sensory analysis and histamine levels in scombrotoxin-forming fish and fishery products.
The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way, unless specifically incorporated into a contract. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law. FDA guidance documents, including this CPG, should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited. The use of the word should in FDA guidances means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required.
Posted in Decontamination Microbial, FDA, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Histamine, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research, Scombroid, scombroid poisoning
A team of undergraduates at the University of California-Santa Cruz has developed a system called Progenie that’s designed to target and eliminate a toxic gene found in Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.
The team’s method provides an alternative to antibiotics commonly used in agriculture. This new method is designed in part to stop the rise of drug-resistant bacteria.
The team’s project won a gold medal at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Jamboree, an annual competition that brings together student teams from around the world to present synthetic biology projects that aim to address pressing global issues.
At the jamboree, teams are judged on their virtual project posters, wiki pages, and video presentations. Teams are awarded gold medals if they demonstrate excellence across multiple categories.
Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Antimicrobials, Decontamination Microbial, E.coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Technology, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research
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