Mehrdad Ameri

Detection of Coxiella burnetii by Nested PCR in Bulk Milk Samples from Dairy Bovine, Ovine, and Caprine Herds in Iran

The epidemiology of Q‐fever in Iran is essentially unknown. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate of Coxiella burnetii in bulk milk samples from dairy bovine, ovine, and caprine herds in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province, Iran. In this study, 376 bulk milk samples from 79 dairy bovine, ovine, and caprine herds were tested for C. burnetii using a nested PCR assay. The animals whose milk samples collected for this study were clinically healthy. In total, 13 of 210 (6.2%) bovine milk samples were positive; the positive samples originated from 5 of 28 (17.9%) commercial dairy herds. All 110 ovine bulk milk samples from 31 sheep breeding farms were negative and only 1 of 56 (1.8%) caprine bulk milk samples from 20 goat breeding farms was positive for C. burnetii. Although no extensive prevalence study was undertaken, the results of this study indicate that clinically healthy cattle are important sources of C. burnetii infection in Iran. To our knowledge, this study is the first report of direct identification of C. burnetii by PCR in bulk milk samples from dairy bovine and caprine herds in Iran. Further intensive prevalence studies on Coxiella infection among farmers, milk‐processing workers, veterinarians, and slaughterhouse workers and on possible dangers of dairy products will be needed to elucidate the epidemiology of Q fever in Iran.

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter Species Isolated from Raw Camel, Beef, Lamb, and Goat Meat in Iran

Campylobacter spp. are one of the most common causes of acute bacterial gastroenteritis in human beings which are transmitted mostly via food originating from animals. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. isolated from retail raw meats in Iran. From June 2008 to June 2009, a total of 722 raw meat samples from camel (n = 107), beef (n = 190), lamb (n = 225), and goat (n = 180) were purchased from randomly selected retail outlets in Isfahan and Yazd, Iran, and were evaluated for the presence of Campylobacter spp. In this study, 50 of the 722 meat samples (6.9%) were contaminated with Campylobacter spp. The highest prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was found in lamb meat (12.0%), followed by goat meat (9.4%), beef meat (2.4%), and camel meat (0.9%). The most prevalent Campylobacter spp. isolated from the meat samples was Campylobacter jejuni (84.0%); the remaining isolates were Campylobacter coli (16.0%). Susceptibilities of 50 Campylobacter isolates were determined for 10 antimicrobial drugs using the disk-diffusion assay. Resistance to tetracycline was the most common finding (68.0%), followed by resistance to ciprofloxacin (46.0%) and nalidixic acid (40.0%). All of the isolates were susceptible to erythromycin, gentamicin, and chloramphenicol. Significantly higher prevalence rates of Campylobacter spp. (p < 0.05) were found in the lamb meat samples taken in spring (20.0%) and summer (18.9%). To our knowledge, this study is the first report of the isolation of Campylobacter spp. from raw camel, lamb, and goat meat in Iran.

Occurrence of Toxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strains in Shrimp in Iran

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a common cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in people, is frequently isolated from a variety of seafood, including shrimp. The virulence of clinical V. parahaemolyticus strains is commonly associated with expression of thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) and TDH-related hemolysin (TRH), which are encoded by the tdh and trh genes. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate of total and toxigenic V. parahaemolyticus in shrimp caught off the south coast of Iran. Three hundred freshly caught shrimp from four different species, Penaeus monodon, Penaeus semisulcatus, Penaeus indicus, and Penaeus merguiensis, were collected in three provinces along Persian Gulf in the south coast of Iran. Shrimp were collected at the end of each month from July 2008 to July 2009. The samples were analyzed for the presence of V. parahaemolyticus and the occurrence of toxigenic strains. Using conventional bacteriological techniques, 29 V. parahaemolyticus isolates were identified in which 28 strains were confirmed by a polymerase chain reaction assay targeting the tlh gene of V. parahaemolyticus. Using polymerase chain reaction assays targeting the tdh and trh genes, five (1.7%) and two (0.7%) isolates were tdh positive and trh positive, respectively. The tdh-positive isolates were commonly detected in summer, whereas no toxigenic strain was isolated in winter. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first report of the presence of toxigenic tdh- and trh-positive V. parahaemolyticus strains in the seafood in Iran.