Arcobacter Species and Their Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Genotypes in Finnish Raw Milk during Summer 2011

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of Arcobacter species in raw milk in Finland. A total of 177 raw milk samples, each from a separate farm, were examined from June to August 2011. Arcobacter species were isolated using an enrichment and selective detection procedure. Overall, 26 (15 % ) of the 177 samples yielded Arcobacter spp. Samples from 25 farms were positive for Arcobacter butzleri and from 1 farm for Arcobacter cryaerophilus. Moreover, both Arcobacter butzleri and A. cryaerophilus were recovered from 1 positive sample. To evaluate a possible genetic variability, one strain of A. butzleri from each farm and the A. cryaerophilus sample were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Genotyping revealed that Arcobacter spp. populations are heterogeneous, and no dominant clone has spread in the investigated samples. Our study is the first report on the isolation of both A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus in raw milk in Finland. Based on our findings, the presence of Arcobacter species in raw milk may pose a potential hazard for human health, in particular for consumers who prefer drinking unpasteurized milk.

Novel Microbiological and Spatial Statistical Methods to Improve Strength of Epidemiological Evidence in a Community-Wide Waterborne Outbreak

“…Seven frozen faecal samples were tested in a retrospective testing scenario for the presence of Arcobacter spp. by culture method as described previously [39] and the plates were inspected regularly for up to 3 weeks [40]. A species-specific multiplex-PCR was performed for detection of A. buzleri , A. cryaerophilus and A. skirrowii as described previously [41].…”

Arcobacter: an emerging food-borne zoonotic pathogen, its public health concerns and advances in diagnosis and control – a comprehensive review

“…from cow milk samples, wherein A. butzleri was the foremost species (60%), followed by A. cryaerophilus (40%), but goat samples were found negative for Arcobacter was reported (Shah et al 2012a). Similarly, Ertas et al (2010) reported 6% prevalence from raw milk samples in Turkey and Revez et al (2013) reported 15% prevalence in Finland. Study conducted by Giacometti et al (2014) showed that A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus survived for a period of six days in milk stored at 4 C and 10 C. Hence, it was concluded that milk can serve as an efficient source of Arcobacter infection to humans.…”

Occurrence, genetic diversity and antibiotic resistance of Arcobacter sp. in a dairy plant

“…, ; Revez et al . ). Beyond the genetic diversity, strains isolated from the food chain also present resistance to several classes of antibiotics (Ferreira et al .…”