Jin-Hyeok Yim

Incidence, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Molecular Characteristics of Nontyphoidal Salmonella Including Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase Producers in Retail Chicken Meat.

The present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Salmonella in 100 chicken carcass samples from five integrated broiler operation brands in Korea. Serotypes, antibiotic resistance patterns, extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genotype, and clonal divergence using multilocus sequence typing of the isolated strains were analyzed. A total of 42 chicken samples were contaminated with nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) isolates: 16 isolates (38%) were Salmonella Virchow, 9 (21%) were Salmonella Bareilly, and 8 (19%) were Salmonella Infantis. A multidrug resistance (MDR; resistant to more than three classes of antibiotics) phenotype was observed in 29% of the isolates, which were resistant to five or more classes of antibiotics. The dominant MDR type was resistance to classes of penicillin, cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, quinolones, and tetracyclines. All the MDR isolates were positive for ESBL producers, and all but one (with the CTX-M-1 genotype) had the CTX-M-15 genotype. Multilocus sequence typing of the isolates revealed ST16 as the dominant sequence type; Salmonella Virchow, Salmonella Infantis, and Salmonella Richmond were all ST16, indicating a close genetic relationship between these serovars. This is the first study in Korea showing the CTX-M-1 type of NTS and the prevalence of ESBL-producing strains among NTS isolated from retail chicken meat. Our findings suggest that MDR Salmonella contamination is widely prevalent in retail chicken meat, and consumption of inadequately cooked products could lead to dissemination of NTS, which is hazardous to human health.

Development of a selective enrichment broth supplemented with bacteriological charcoal and a high concentration of polymyxin B for the detection of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in chicken carcass rinses.

A new Campylobacter-selective enrichment broth supplemented with bacteriological charcoal and a high concentration of polymyxin B was developed (charcoal-cefoperazone-polymyxin B-deoxycholate broth; CCPD broth). We compared the ability of CCPD broth to detect Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in chicken carcass rinses to that of modified Bolton (mBolton) broth. Eighty whole chickens were purchased from retailers and rinsed with 400 mL buffered peptone water. The rinsed samples were enriched with 2× blood-free mBolton enrichment broth or 2× CCPD broth at 42 °C for 48 h and then streaked onto modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA). The Campylobacter isolation rate was significantly higher in CCPD broth than in mBolton broth (CCPD broth, 61 out of 80; mBolton broth, 34 out of 80; p<0.05). Moreover, the selectivity of CCPD broth agar was also superior to that of mBolton broth when comparing the number of contaminated mCCDA plates (CCPD broth, 16 out of 80; mBolton broth, 58 out of 80; p<0.05) and the growth index of competing flora (CCPD broth, 1.4; mBolton broth, 2.9; p<0.05).

Rapid Detection of Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens in Kefir Grain and Kefir Milk Using Newly Developed Real-Time PCR

Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens is an indicator microorganism for kefir and a key factor in kefir grain formation and kefiran production. We designed a novel real-time PCR primer and probe set, LKF_KU504, for the rapid detection of L. kefiranofaciens. In inclusivity and exclusivity tests, only 14 L. kefiranofaciens strains were positive among 61 microorganisms, indicating 100 % sensitivity and specificity. The LKF_KU504 set also differentiated kefir milk from 30 commercial nonkefir yogurts. The levels of L. kefiranofaciens in kefir grain and kefir milk were significantly different, indicating L. kefiranofaciens was more concentrated in kefir grain than in kefir milk.

Improvement of Karmali Agar by Addition of Polymyxin B for the Detection of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli in Whole‐Chicken Carcass Rinse

The Karmali agar was modified by supplementation with a high concentration of polymyxin B. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effect of a high concentration of polymyxin B on the ability and selectivity of the modified Karmali agar to isolate Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from whole chicken carcass rinse. A total of 80 whole chickens were rinsed with 400 mL of buffer peptone water. The rinsed samples were incubated with 2× blood-free modified Bolton enrichment broth for 48 h, and then streaked onto unmodified Karmali agar and modified Karmali agar supplemented with 100000 IU/L polymixin B (P-Karmali agar). The suspected colonies were finally confirmed by colony PCR. The P-Karmali agar exhibited a significantly better (P < 0.05) isolation rate than the unmodified Karmali agar (P-Karmali agar, 73.8%; unmodified Karmali agar, 33.8%). Moreover, the selectivity of the P-Karmali agar was also better (P < 0.05) than that of the other selective agar when comparing the number of contaminated plates (P-Karmali agar, 68.8%; unmodified Karmali agar, 87.5%) and growth index of competing flora (P-Karmali agar, 1.4; unmodified Karmali agar, 2.7). The improved selective agar excluded competing flora resistant to antibiotic agents in unmodified Karmali agar, increasing isolation rate and selectivity for C. jejuni and C. coli.

Incidence, Antibiotic Susceptibility, and Toxin Profiles of Bacillus cereus sensu lato Isolated from Korean Fermented Soybean Products

Korean fermented soybean products, such as doenjang, kochujang, ssamjang, and cho-kochujang, can harbor foodborne pathogens such as Bacillus cereus sensu lato (B. cereus sensu lato). The aim of this study was to characterize the toxin gene profiles, biochemical characteristics, and antibiotic resistance patterns of B. cereus sensu lato strains isolated from Korean fermented soybean products. Eighty-eight samples of Korean fermented soybean products purchased from retails in Seoul were tested. Thirteen of 26 doenjang samples, 13 of 23 kochujang samples, 16 of 30 ssamjang samples, and 5 of 9 cho-kochujang samples were positive for B. cereus sensu lato strains. The contamination level of all positive samples did not exceed 4 log CFU/g of food (maximum levels of Korea Food Code). Eighty-seven B. cereus sensu lato strains were isolated from 47 positive samples, and all isolates carried at least one enterotoxin gene. The detection rates of hblCDA, nheABC, cytK, and entFM enterotoxin genes among all isolates were 34.5%, 98.9%, 57.5%, and 100%, respectively. Fifteen strains (17.2%) harbored the emetic toxin gene. Most strains tested positive for salicin fermentation (62.1%), starch hydrolysis (66.7%), hemolysis (98.9%), motility test (100%), and lecithinase production (96.6%). The B. cereus sensu lato strains were highly resistant to β-lactam antibiotics such as ampicillin, penicillin, cefepime, imipenem, and oxacillin. Although B. cereus sensu lato levels in Korean fermented soybean products did not exceed the maximum levels permitted in South Korea (<10(4) CFU/g), these results indicate that the bacterial isolates have the potential to cause diarrheal or emetic gastrointestinal diseases.

Quantitative Prevalence and Toxin Gene Profile of Bacillus cereus from Ready-to-Eat Vegetables in South Korea

Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods such as prepared vegetables are becoming an increasingly popular food choice. Since RTE vegetables are not commonly sterilized by heat treatment, contamination with foodborne pathogens such as Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is a major concern. The objective of this study was to assess the quantitative prevalence and toxin gene profiles of B. cereus strains isolated from RTE vegetables. We found that 70 of the 145 (48%) tested retail vegetable salad and sprout samples were positive for B. cereus. The B. cereus isolates harbored at least one enterotoxin gene. The detection rates of nheABC, hblCDA, cytK, and entFM enterotoxin genes among all isolates were 97.1%, 100%, 81.4%, and 98.6%, respectively. No strain carried the emetic toxin genes. Only 4 strains (5.7%) from the 70 isolates were psychrotrophic and were able to grow at 7°C. All of the psychrotrophic isolates possessed at least 1 enterotoxin gene.

Comparison of Culture, Conventional and Real-time PCR Methods for Listeria monocytogenes in Foods

We compared standard culture methods as well as conventional PCR and real-time PCR for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) in milk, cheese, fresh-cut vegetables, and raw beef that have different levels of background microflora. No statistical differences were observed in sensitivity between the two selective media in all foods. In total, real-time PCR assay exhibited statistically excellent detection sensitivity (p<0.05) and was less time consuming and laborious as compared with standard culture methods. Conventional culture methods showed poor performance in detecting L. monocytogenes in food with high levels of background microflora, generating numerous false negative results. While the detection of L. monocytogenes in fresh cut vegetable by culture methods was hindered only by L. innocua, various background microflora, such as L. innocua, L. welshimeri, L. grayi, and Enterococcus faecalis appeared on the two selective media as presumptive positive colonies in raw beef indicating the necessity of improvement of current selective media. It appears that real-time PCR is an effective and sensitive presumptive screening tool for L. monocytogenes in various types of foods, especially foods samples with high levels of background microflora, thus complementing standard culture methodologies.

Improvement of Karmali Agar by Supplementation with Tazobactam for Detecting Campylobacter in Raw Poultry

In this study, Karmali agar was modified by adding tazobactam (T-Karmali agar) to suppress the growth of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli , which frequently contaminates raw poultry meat. By inoculating 30 Campylobacter spp. strains and 25 ESBL-producing E. coli strains onto Karmali agar and T-Karmali agar containing various concentrations of the antibacterial agent, we determined the optimum concentration of tazobactam to be 4 mg/liter. The Campylobacter spp. isolation rate on T-Karmali agar (13.3%) was higher than that on Karmali agar (8.3%), although the difference was not significant (P > 0.05). However, T-Karmali agar showed a significantly greater selectivity than Karmali agar, as evaluated by comparing the numbers of contaminated agar plates (20.8 versus 82.5%; P < 0.05) and the growth indexes (1.36 versus 2.83) of competing flora. The predominant competing flora on Karmali and T-Karmali agar were identified as ESBL-producing E. coli . Thus, T-Karmali agar might be effective for determining the real prevalence of Campylobacter in raw poultry and, especially, contamination with ESBL-producing E. coli .