No abstract

No abstract

Aim: To assess the parasitic contamination of raw vegetables retailed at Mannuthy in Thrissur district of Kerala state, India. Materials and Methods:A total of 112 samples, viz. cabbage (17), mint (11), coriander leaves (11), spinach (15), onion (10), carrot (10), potato (10), ginger (15), beet root ( 7) and tomato (6) were collected from retail market at Mannuthy, Kerala. Collected samples were washed with physiological saline solution. The washings were collected and examined under light microscopy.Results: Helminthic eggs were detected in three (2.7%) of 112 samples. Two samples of cabbage (1.8%) and one sample of onion (0.9%) was positive for ova of Ascaris spp. Conclusion:Vegetables can act as potential source of gastrointestinal parasitic infections. The study emphasizes the need for proper washing of vegetables before they are consumed or cooked.

No abstract

Aim:The objective of the study was to investigate the occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium in meat and meat products using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.Materials and Methods:The assay combined an enrichment step in tryptic soy broth with yeast extract formulated for the simultaneous growth of target pathogens, DNA isolation and multiplex PCR. A total of 1134 samples including beef (n=349), chicken (n=325), pork (n=310), chevon (n=50), and meat products (n=100) were collected from different parts of Kerala, India. All the samples were subjected to multiplex PCR analysis and culture-based detection for the four pathogens in parallel.Results:Overall occurrence of L. monocytogenes was 0.08 % by cultural method. However, no L. monocytogenes was obtained by multiplex PCR method. Yersinia enterocolitica was obtained from beef and pork samples. A high prevalence of S. aureus (46.7%) was found in all types of meat samples tested. None of the samples was positive for S. Typhimurium.Conclusion:Multiplex PCR assay used in this study can detect more than one pathogen simultaneously by amplifying more than one target gene in a single reaction, which can save time and labor cost.