Bacterial isolates exhibiting multidrug resistance, hemolytic activity, and high 16S rRNA gene similarity with well‐known pathogens found in camel milk samples of Riyadh region

Abstract

Customary consumption of unpasteurized milk by the population in the central Najed region of Saudi Arabia may pose a health risk. Therefore, 80 camel milk samples were collected aseptically from seven different stations of Riyadh region. The biochemical and microbiological properties of these milk samples were determined. Nutrient agar and brain heart infusion agar were used to determine mesophilic aerobic counts (MACs). The MAC in each mL of milk varied from 60 to 16 × 10 CFU/mL on nutrient agar. Based on the colony morphology, 176 colonies were collected from different samples, and these isolates were de-replicated into 80 unique isolates using rep-PCR analysis. Surprisingly, the 16S rRNA sequence analysis of these strains revealed that more than one-third of the collected milk samples contained strains that share maximum sequence similarities with well-known pathogens, such as Brucella, Bacillus anthracis, Listeria monocytogenes, and MRSA. Furthermore, many strains exhibit 16S rRNA gene similarity with opportunistic pathogens such as Citrobacter freundii and Kytococcus schroeteri. Many strains exhibit β-hemolytic activity and resistant to six different antibiotics. Our study suggested that consumption of raw camel milk from this region constitutes a great health risk.

Staphylococcus aureus as Food-Borne Disease: An Ongoing Threat in Public Health in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…24 Moreover, 80 camel milk samples were collected from different places throughout Riyadh city, and strains of bacteria that carried the 16s RNA gene similar to many pathogens such as MRSA were found. 31…”

Molecular detection of Babesia microti in one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Halayeb and Shalateen, Halayeb, Egypt

“…In the past, Camels were supposed to resist various pathological diseases (Hirad et al, 2018). However, some recent literature described the susceptibility of camels to several infectious agents such as viral, fungal, bacterial and parasitic diseases (Zarrin et al 2020).…”

Molecular Detection and Identification of Babesia spp., and Trypanosoma spp. in One-humped Camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Halayeb and Shalateen, Egypt

“…It was thought that camels are resistant to various pathogenic diseases [3]. Recently, different literatures described the susceptibility of camels to large number of pathogenic agents such as bacterial, fungal, parasitic and viral diseases [4].…”