Eliane Moura Falavina dos Reis

Prevalência de sorovares de Salmonella isolados de aves no Brasil

Salmonella strains were isolated from ill and shedding birds in several regions of Brazil between 1962 and 1991. Serotyping of 2123 isolates showed 90 serovars pertaining to 14 serogroups. There was a predominance of groups O:9 (40.0%), O:4 (33.3%), O:7 (10.6%) and O:3,10 (6.7%). Major serovar diversity was found to serogroup O:7 that accounted for 22 different types, followed by serogroups O:4, O:3,10 and O:9 with 19, 15 and 10 serotypes respectively. An average of 10.8 serovars was isolated per year. S. Gallinarum, S. Pullorum, S. Typhimurium, S. Heidelberg, S. Enteritidis and S. Infantis were the most frequent serovars found over the 30 years, representing 65% to 67% of the total of isolates. Bacteriological and epidemiological aspects concerning a number of serotypes are discussed.

Phage types of Salmonella enteritidis isolated from clinical and food samples, and from broiler carcasses in Southern Brazil

272 isolates of Salmonella Enteritidis (111 isolated from frozen broiler chicken carcasses, 126 from human food and other biological materials involved in food poisoning outbreaks and 35 from different poultry materials) were selected for phage typing. From these, 111 were phage typed, 57.65% being classified as phage type 4, 32.43% as phage type 4a, 3.60% as phage type 6a and 0.90% as phage type 7, whereas 5.40% samples were not phage typeable. The predominance of phage type 4 is in agreement with the results published worldwide, and reinforces the need for studies related to the epidemiological meaning of these findings.

Microbial contamination of sand from major beaches in Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil

The presence of faecal contamination and pathogenic microorganisms in samples of dry and wet sand collected from three major beaches in Fortaleza, Ceara State, Brazil: (Praia do Mucuripe, Praia do Futuro and Praia do Caca e Pesca), during the period of May 1999 to January 2000 was evaluated. Praia do Caca e Pesca had the highest incidence of E. coli in dry sand (56%) followed by Praia do Mucuripe (28%) and Praia do Futuro (16%). In wet sand, results were 48%, 28% and 24% for Praia do Caca e Pesca, Praia do Futuro and Praia do Mucuripe, respectively. Only two samples from Praia do Futuro, one from dry sand and another one from wet sand, were positive for Salmonella. V. parahaemolyticus was isolated from four samples from Praia do Caca e Pesca (two from dry-sand samples and two from wet-sand), one from Praia do Futuro (wet sand), and three and four from Praia do Mucuripe (wet and dry sand, respectively). Yeasts belonged to the Candida genus. Dry-sand samples presented higher yeast contaminations level than wet-sand ones. Praia do Futuro had the highest level of yeast contamination (41%), followed by Praia do Caca e Pesca (33%) and Praia do Mucuripe (26%).

Sorovares de Salmonella isolados de matérias-primas e de ração para aves no Brasil

Salmonella strains were isolated from feedstuff and poultry feeds from several regions of Brazil in 1976 and from 1979 to 1991. Serotyping of 2293 isolates showed 151 serovars which pertained to 17 serogroups and were classified as subspecies I (99.6%), IIIa (0.33%) and IV (0.04%). There was a predominance of groups O:7 (30.4%), O:4 (24.5%), O:3,10 (19.1%), O:13 (7.8%), O:1, 3,19 (4.9%) and O:18 (3.7%), representing 90% of the serogroups characterized that accounted for 103 different serotypes (68.2%). Predominant serovars isolated from all sources were S. Montevideo, S. Senftenberg, S. Havana, S. Mbandaka, S. Tennessee, S. Infantis, S. Agona, S. Anatum, S. Cerro and S. Bredeney. Bacteriological and epidemiological aspects and the relationship with serovars isolated from poultry are discussed.

Incidence and antimicrobial resistance of enteropathogens isolated from an integrated aquaculture system.

Aims:  To evaluate an integrated aquaculture system, microbiological analyses of water used in this system were carried out and the incidence and antimicrobial resistance of enteropathogens were determined in the related ecosystem.

Salmonella serovars in food poisoning episodes recorded in Brazil from 1982 to 1991

The Salmonella serovars involved in 25 food poisoning episodes which occurred in the Southeast and South of Brazil from 1982 to 1991 were identified. The most frequently detected serotype was S. Typhimurium (13/25, 52%), and the food most frequently involved in the transmission of Salmonella was homemade mayonnaise. The need to set up a permanent program of epidemiologic alert for food poisoning is emphasized.

Optimization of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction for molecular typing of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi

Optimization of the RAPD reaction for characterizing Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strains was studied in order to ensure the reproducibility and the discriminatory power of this technique. Eight Salmonella serovar Typhi strains isolated from various regions in Brazil were examined for the fragment patterns produced using different concentrations of DNA template, primer, MgCl2 and Taq DNA polymerase. Using two different low stringency thermal cycle profiles, the RAPD fingerprints obtained were compared. A set of sixteen primers was evaluated for their ability to produce a high number of distinct fragments. We found that variations associated to all of the tested parameters modified the fingerprinting patterns. For the strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi used in this experiment, we have defined a set of conditions for RAPD-PCR reaction, which result in a simple, fast and reproducible typing method.

Bactérias entéricas presentes em amostras de água e camarão marinho litopenaeus vannamei oriundos de fazendas de cultivo no estado do Ceará, Brasil

Foram realizados a quantificacao de coliformes totais (CT) e termotolerantes (CTT), isolamento e identificacao de coliformes, e pesquisa de Salmonella em 28 amostras de agua e 28 de camarao da especie Litopenaeus vannamei, oriundas de duas fazendas de cultivo localizadas no Estado do Ceara, Brasil. Nenhuma amostra de agua apresentou indice de CTT acima do limite de 2.500/100 mL preconizado pela legislacao para aguas salobras destinadas ao cultivo de organismos para fins de consumo. O Numero Mais Provavel (NMP/g) de CTT das amostras de camarao variou de <3 a 2,9 x 10(4). A maior frequencia de isolamento de coliformes nas amostras de agua e camarao foi a da especie Escherichia coli. Em apenas tres (5,35%), das 56 amostras analisadas, foi detectada a presenca de Salmonella sorovar Newport e S. Saintpaul. Apesar do baixo indice de CTT e da baixa incidencia de salmonela, a presenca dessas bacterias entericas em ambientes de cultivo de peneideos e preocupante, uma vez que podem provocar infeccoes em humanos.

Helicobacter pylori in dyspeptic children and adults: endoscopic, bacteriologic and histologic correlations

Using different bacteriological (urease test, Gram staining and culture) and histological (Steiner staining and modified Giemsa staining) techniques, we searched for the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the gastric antrum of 200 dyspeptic Brazilian patients (106 females and 94 males aged 19 days to 81 years). The presence of bacteria was then correlated with the endoscopic and histological findings. H. pylori was present in 59.5% of the population studied. In Brazil, colonization occurs early, involving 37% of the dyspeptic population by 20 years of age. The presence of H. pylori in the gastric antrum was strongly associated with duodenal ulcer (P < 0.001) and a normal endoscopic examination did not exclude the possibility of colonization of the gastric antrum by H. pylori. The most sensitive test was the preformed urease test (89%). We conclude that more than one diagnostic method should preferably be used for the detection of H. pylori and that the presence of H. pylori is closely correlated with active chronic gastritis (P < 0.001).

Phage typing and Multidrug resistance profile in S. Typhimurium isolated from different sources in Brazil from 1999 to 2004

Salmonella Typhimurium has become a widespread cause of salmonellosis among humans and animals worldwide. In Brazil, Salmonella Typhimurium (STM) is one of the most prevalent serovars isolated from food for human consumption. The uncontrolled sale and use of antimicrobials in agriculture and for treating human patients contributes to increase multidrug resistance of this serovar. In the present study, a total of 278 STM isolates from different sources and regions of Brazil over the period 1999 to 2004 were phage typed and analyzed for their antimicrobial resistance profile at Laboratory of Enterobacteria, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, FIOCRUZ. The main STM phage types isolated were DT 193 (64.3%), DT 19 (17.4%) and DT 18 (4%). Others phage types as DT 10 (2%), DT 27 (3.24%), DT 13 (0.36%), DT 22 (0.36%), DT 28 (0.36%), DT 29 (0.36%) and DT 149 (0.36%) were obtained in low percentages. A total of 54% STM strains were resistant to three or more antimicrobial classes, while no resistance to third generation cephalosporin or ciprofloxacin was identified in these strains. Those results show the STM phage types circulating among animals, food for human consumption and humans in Brazil as well as the increasing of multidrug resistance. The surveillance of STM strains based on phage typing and antimicrobial resistance profile are useful for detecting outbreaks, identifying sources of infection and implementing prevention and control measures.