Ljiljana Suvajdzic

Epidemiological significance of Salmonella enterica serovar Montevideo and the potential role of feed for their entry into the food chain

Animal feed is the first link in the food chain and one of the possible source of Salmonella for food producing animals and consequently, humans consuming products of animal origin. The assessment of the importance and role of Salmonella organisms commonly detected in animal feed in epidemic outbreaks of salmonellosis is highly intricate. This is mainly due to the fact that isolates are rarely identified (typed) to the serovar level, thus, the relevant data on both animal feed and food of animal origin are lacking. In the framework of the 2-year project granted by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, all Salmonella isolates originating from animal feed were typed to the serovar level in the National Reference Laboratory for Salmonella. Eighteen different serovars have been identified, whereas 15% of all isolates included serovar Montevideo. Frequent isolation of S. ser. Montevideo from animal feed originating from feed mills in our epizootic area (South Backa and Srem district), encouraged our attempt to summarize and present the available data on the importance of Montevideo serovar in the outbreaks of clinical salmonellosis in humans and to review the reports on individual epidemiological studies aimed at detecting infection sources and establishing relevant facts on emerging antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella. Moreover, this article emphasizes the need and importance of an extensive Salmonella monitoring program at national level, which would encompass all links of the food chain including animal feed and feed processing plants as well.

Different antimicrobial effects of raspberry depending on the method of active components isolation

Raspberry fruit exhibits numerous beneficial effects for veterinary and human medicine. One of those effects is antimicrobial activity, because of its diverse chemical composition. Adequate processing of plant material is the most important part of examining their activities. Processing conditions affect the separation of chemical substances in the test sample i.e. different methods can lead to separation of different active principles. Raspberry juice was produced by filtration. Raspberry pomace, the residue from the pressing of raspberries for juice production was extracted with ethanol and ether. The aim of this study was to determine the most suitable extraction procedure in order to obtain extract with the highest antimicrobial potential. The results of well diffusion method indicate that raspberry juice and ethanol extract of raspberry pomace have shown higher antimicrobial potential in comparison to ether extract.

Epizootiological and clinical characteristics of bovine dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton verrucosum.

Dermatophytoses present frequent contagious fungal skin diseases in humans and animals. Zoophyllic types of dermatophytes are almost always present in animals. The dominant dermatophyte specie in cattle and other ruminants is Trichophyton verrucosum of the Family Arthrodermataceae. In the course of this investigation, a total of 566 animals of the Holstein- Friesian breed were examined epizootiologically and clinically. Methods of epizootiological, clinical and laboratory examinations were applied. The material used for laboratory investigations that included direct microscopic examinations including the isolation and identification of the cause, were hair samples and skin scars of cattle suspected of having the infection. Using the described methods, we established and described cattle infection with T. verrucosum in a farm in the district Južnobacki okrug, in the Republic of Serbia. A prevalence of cattle skin infection with T. verrucosum of 29.5% was established. In addition to the exhibited charateristic eflorescences that correspond to the clinical picture of dermatophytoses, we also registered the occurrence of hemorrhages, suppurations and necroses. Further epizootiological investigations are necesssary in order to eliminate the source of infection.