Occurrence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile ofSalmonellaspp. in Raw and Ready-To-Eat Foods andCampylobacterspp. in Retail Raw Chicken Meat in Transylvania, Romania

Abstract

The survey was undertaken to investigate the presence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Salmonella spp. in raw and ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, and Campylobacter spp. in the retail raw chicken meat collected in two counties of Transylvania, Romania. A total of 13.1% (51/388) of the examined food samples were found to be Salmonella positive, with a distribution of 14.7% (48/326) in the raw food (i.e., pork, chicken carcass, and shell egg) and 4.8% (3/62) in the RTE samples (i.e., sausages, but not ham and salami), respectively. These differences were statistically significant (p = 0.034). The isolates were serotyped as Salmonella Infantis (n

Scientific Achievements in the Study of the Occurrence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Major Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria in Foods and Food Processing Environments in Romania: Review of the Last Decade

“…The review data showed the availability of only three studies. These investigations have been focused on Campylobacter monitoring mainly in raw chicken meat [4,5,22]. As expected, the overall dominance of C. jejuni has been observed, but the isolation of C. coli has been also demonstrated in a reduced number of samples ( Table 1).…”

“…Salmonella spp. were also recorded in 0.1% (4/3172) of different RTE meat products [6] and 8.1% (3/37) of sausages [4]. Contrary, no bacteria were isolated from illegally sold RTE food in Romanian markets [10] and pasteurized mélange [11].…”

“…In case of foodborne diseases, the effectiveness of public health interventions is frequently hampered by the involvement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Thus, the continuous monitoring of the antimicrobial resistance phenomenon must be considered a priority for the public health sector [1,4,5].…”

“…Accordingly, year by year, the most frequently registered top five pathogens in descending order, causing severe infections in humans and economic losses are Campylobacter spp., Salmonella serovars, Yersinia spp., shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. The data reported by member states are the result of a harmonized interinstitutional action, which encompasses positive findings from clinical cases, official and national control programs, as well as from the self-control process of the production units [4]. The resulted synopsis from member states, including Romania, does not include results from scientific publications, neither provides exact information about the origin and type of the tested food matrix, in direct association with the detailed antibiotic resistance profile of the implicated bacterial species and/or serotypes.…”

“…FBI is usually characterized by acute health problems, with gastrointestinal (e.g., diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, or abdominal cramps), or neurological (e.g., headaches, paralysis, or paresthesia) manifestations. In “ sensu stricto ”, two types of FBI are known, namely infection, which is the consequence of ingesting food or water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, and intoxication, meaning the situation when the toxin produced by the pathogen causes the illness [ 1 – 4 ].…”