This study had investigated the effect of freezing on the bacterial counts in raw milk. In specific, we estimated the total bacterial counts and the counts of total coliform, Salt tolerant bacteria, Staphylococcus spp., Thermopilic Lactobacilli, Mesophilic Lactobacilli, Leuconostoc spp., Lactococci and Streptococci. Thirty samples of raw cow milk were frozen at -18-20°C for eight weeks and tested on a weekly basis. The results showed that the bacterial counts had significantly decreased as the freezing period increased. Thus, the total count had significantly decreased from (6.5*10 5 cfu/ml) in fresh milk to (5.0*10 3 cfu/ml) in frozen milk after eight weeks (P ≤ 1%). The decrease in the bacterial counts was different between the different bacterial groups. The highest decrease was for Salt tolerant bacteria from (9.8*10 5 cfu/ml) to (7.6*10 3 cfu/ml), while the lowest decrease was for Staphylococcus spp from (3.6*10 3 cfu/ml) to (8.2*10 1 cfu/ml). The study recommends freezing as an important storage method for raw milk.

This study investigated the susceptibility pattern of different bacteria isolated from urinary tract infection to different antibiotics. 83 uropathogen bacteria were isolated from 300 urine samples taken from patients attended to Tikrit Teaching Hospital from March, 2011 through February, 2012. The patients were males and females aged between 4 days to 95 years. Bacteria obtained from urine samples were cultured and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility to 16 kinds of antibiotics. Urine samples were cultured on different media and incubated, thereafter bacteria were isolated and purified by streaking four times on the same media; isolates were identified depending on morphological, microscopic, and biochemical characteristics. The isolated strains of bacteria were tested for their susceptibility to some antibiotics using disk diffusion method. The antagonistic activity was evaluated by observing a clear zone of inhibition growth. The results showed that the bacterial species of Eschericia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Citrobacter diversus, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter aerogenes, Yersinia pestis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella oxytoca and Hafnia alvei were identified in 44 (53%), 18 (21.7%), 4 (4.8%), 4 (4.8%), 3 (3.6%), 3 (3.6%), 3 (3.6%), 2 (2.4%), 1 (1.2%) and 1 (1.2%), respectively, of the isolates. The results of antimicrobial susceptibility test showed that 83 (100%) isolates were resistant to Ampicillin, Rifampicin and Erythromycin. 75 (90.3%) isolates were resistant to Cefotaxime, 67 (80.7%) isolates were resistant to Tobramyci. 66 (79.5%), 65 (78.3%), 56 (67.4%) and 48 (57.8%) isolates showed susceptibility to Nalidixic acid, Tetracycline, Nitrofurantoin, Chloramphenicol, respectively. 45 (54.2%) isolates were resistant to Azithromycin, Norfloxacin and Ciprofloxacin. Meropenem, Gentamicin, Amikacin, and Imipenem show significant effect on 35 (42.1%), 32 (38.5%), 27 (32.5%) and 1 (1.2%) isolates, respectively. In conclusion, significant bacteria count isolated from urine samples is pathogenic. The most effective antibiotic in inhibiting the bacterial growth M. K. Salih et al. 60was Imipenem while Ampicillin, Rifampicin and Erythromycin showed no effect on all 83 isolates (100%).

Foods do certainly play an important role in human health. This cross sectional study investigated the effect of lifestyle food on chronic diseases. In specific, it compared these diseases between vegetarians and non- vegetarians in Jordan in 2012. Questionnaires were distributed and the responses of 97 vegetarians and 97 non-vegetarians were analyzed. Chi-square and Wilcoxon signed ranks tests showed statistically significant differences between the two groups. In particular, chronic diseases including Diabetes, Hypertension, and Obesity were more prevalence among non-vegetarians compared to vegetarian respondents.

No abstract

No abstract

This study investigated the effect of different detergents used to clean cows' udders on the microbial content of the produced milk using twenty cows in Ajloun, a northern city in Jordan. The milking process was repeated from same cows on three successive days. On day 1, we milked the cows after cleaning their udders using water only. This was repeated on the two successive days. Thereafter, the cows were milked after cleaning their udders by a different detergent each day. The process was also repeated for three successive days for each detergent. Microbial Analysis was carried out on the collected milk samples. The results indicated that cleaning cows' udders before milking has improved the hygiene conditions and reduced the total bacterial count, total coliform, staphylococci and enterococci spp counts and the values of yeast and molds. Different detergents had different effects on the microbial counts. Finally, the effectiveness of the detergent differed according to its brand. Our findings are important to public health because milk has been a traditional food and ironically a very potent carrier of gastrointestinal infections, if contaminated.

This study investigated the antibiotic resistance profile of the L. garvieae isolated strains from Jordanian dairy products. Disk diffusion method was used. In particular, different antibiotics were tested against L. garvieae; the antibiotic disks were Trimethoprim (5 µg), Clindamycin (2 µg), Nitrofurantoin (300 µg), Erythromycin (15 µg), Ampicillin (15 µg), Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (1.25/23.75 µg Polymyxin B (300U) and Tetracycline (30 µg). The results indicated high and statistically significant effects of Trimethoprim, Nitrofurantoin and Trimethoprim/Sulfamthoxazole on L. garvieae. Trimethoprim had the greatest antimicrobial effect on L. garvieae strains. All of the strains were sensitive to this antibiotic. Trimethoprim showed 20 mm inhibition zone in some strains. On the other hand, there were no antibiotic effects of Clindamycin and Polymyxin B on L. garvieae. Slight and statistically insignificant effects were found of other tested antibiotics. The study recommended using Trimethoprim antibiotic against L. garvieae because it inhibited its growths in all isolated cultures.

This study investigated whether Jordanians care about eating healthy food. To achieve the objective of the study, a questionnaire was distributed to 300 persons. Chi-square test and t-test were used for analysis. Based on the answers of 261 respondents, we found that Jordanians in general do show a statistically significant care about how healthy is their food. In specific, the results indicated that Jordanians concern about eating fruits and vegetables, the amount of fat, added sugar and calories in their food in a statistically significant manner. On the other hand, the results showed that Jordanians do not show a statistically significant concern about the amounts of preservatives and colorings added to their food and whether it is natural or manufactured or plant or animal sourced.