Ubirajara Maciel da Costa

Low occurrence of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica in pig tonsils at slaughter in Southern Brazil

Yersinia enterocolitica is a foodborne pathogen and pigs are the main reservoir of it in their tonsils. As Brazil is a large producer and exporter of pork meat and information regarding this pathogen is still quite scarce, this study aimed at evaluating the direct detection of Y. enterocolitica followed by pathogenic Y. enterocolitica (PYE) determination in tonsils of slaughtered pigs. For this purpose, 400 pig tonsils were collected from 15 farms in four federally certified slaughterhouses in Southern Brazil. Initially, samples were screened using conventional PCR targeting of the 16sRNA gene, followed by multiplex PCR (mPCR) in order to detect three virulence genes (ail, yadA, and virF) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) for the detection of the ail gene. One hundred and one (25.2%) of the samples tested positive for the 16sRNA gene. However, a PYE was detected in one out of the 101 Y. enterocolitica positive samples. The three virulence genes were determined by mPCR and confirmed by partial DNA sequencing. Thus, a significant occurrence of Y. enterocolitica was observed in pig tonsils from federally inspected slaughterhouses in Brazil, although the presence of pathogenic strains was quite low.

Ocurrence of Campylobacter spp. in chilled chicken carcasses slaughtered in the west region of Santa Catarina, Brazil

Background: The thermophilic bacteria of the genus Campylobacter are important agents of alimentary gastroenteritis, called campylobacteriosis. These microorganisms multiply in temperatures ranging from 25oC to 46oC, however, low temperatures are incompatible with their multiplication. For this reason, the seasons of the year may interfere with the level of contamination by Campylobacter sp. The main sources of transmission are contaminated meat and giblets from poultry during poorly conducted slaughter operations. The disease may present itself with a different range of forms of disease: from mild signs of gastrointestinal infection to more severe cases, such as the Guillain-Barre syndrome. Material, Methods & Results: Due to the great importance of western Santa Catarina to the poultry industry, it was necessary to verify the occurrence of the pathogen in cold carcasses of broilers slaughtered in this region, and its variation through the seasons of the year. From January 2013 to February 2015 broiler carcasses were collected weekly, after the water cooling process, in slaughterhouses under Federal Inspection of the three largest microregions of western Santa Catarina in terms of number of broilers slaughtered, totaling 808 samples. The assessment of thermophilic Campylobacter was performed according to the methodology recommended by ISO 10272-1: 2006. Of the 808 samples analyzed, the frequency of isolation of thermophilic Campylobacter was 1.82% (8/440) in microregion 1, 4.95% (10/202) in microregion 2 and 13.86% (23/166) in the microregion 3, totaling 5.07% of positive samples (41/808). Comparing the microregions, it was verified that there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between the isolation frequencies of microregions 1 and 2. However, there was a significant difference (P 0.05) between the seasons. However, it is evident the need for a longer study to evaluate the actual influence of the seasons (winter and summer) on the isolation rate of thermophilic Campylobacter in broiler carcasses shortly after the cooling process. Even though the study demonstrated low levels of thermophilic Campylobacter isolation rates in the evaluated regions, just the fact of isolating the agent already shows that there is an imminent risk to consumers, mainly due to cross-contamination of foods that will be consumed raw; therefore, higher standards of microbiological controls should be practiced in the production chain and slaughter of poultry, respecting good manufacturing practices, hygiene and handling practices within the industry.