Vandan Nagar

Prevalence, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Resistance of Aeromonas Strains from Various Retail Food Products in Mumbai, India

A total of 154 food samples (chicken, fish, and ready-to-eat sprouts) from various retail outlets in Mumbai, India, were analyzed for the presence of Aeromonas spp. over a period of 2 y (January 2006 to March 2008). Twenty-two Aeromonas isolates belonging to 7 different species were isolated from 18 (11.7%) food samples. The highest percentages of isolation were from chicken (28.6%) followed by fish (20%) and sprout (2.5%) samples. Aeromonas caviae, A. veronii bv. sobria, and A. salmonicida were the most frequently isolated species from sprouts, chicken, and fish samples, respectively. The genes encoding for putative virulence factors, cytotoxic enterotoxin (act), hemolysin (hly), aerolysin (aer), elastase (ahyB), and lipase (lip) were detected using polymerase chain reaction method in 59.1%, 40.9%, 22.7%, 54.5%, and 31.8% of the strains, respectively. The isolated Aeromonas strains were found to be positive for virulence factors, that is, amylase, DNase, gelatinase, protease, and lipase production. More than 60% isolates were also positive for β-hemolytic activity. All these food isolates were found to be resistant to ampicillin and bacitracin, and sensitive to gentamicin, 3rd-generation cephalosporins (ceftazidime, cephotaxime, ceftriaxone), and chloramphenicol. Seventeen (77.2%) isolates harbored single and/or multiple plasmids (approximately 5 to >16 kb). The XbaI digestion patterns of chromosomal DNA of these isolates, using pulsed field gel electrophoresis, showed high genetic diversity among these isolates. Our results demonstrate the presence of various Aeromonas spp. with virulence potential and antimicrobial resistance in different food products marketed in Mumbai, India. The potential health risks posed by consumption of these raw or undercooked food products should not be underestimated.

Diverse Profiles of N‐acyl Homoserine l‐Lactones, Biofilm, Virulence Genes and Integrons in Food‐Borne Aeromonas Isolates

Aeromonas are regarded as opportunistic as well as primary pathogens of humans and fish, and are associated with gastroenteritis and septicemia in humans. Production of N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signal molecules and biofilm was determined in 22 Aeromonas isolates, from different food products in India, using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis and microtiter-plate assay, respectively. Overall, highly heterogeneous patterns of AHL production were observed, with the production of N-butanoyl homoserine lactone (C4-HSL) and N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone (C6-HSL) by the majority (81.8%) of Aeromonas food isolates. Moreover, putative N-pentanoyl homoserine lactone (C5-HSL), N-heptanoyl homoserine lactone (C7-HSL), and N-octanoyl homoserine lactone (C8-HSL) were produced by 72.7%, 27.3%, and 9.1% of isolates, respectively. This is the 1st report of production of C7-HSL by Aeromonas species. Aeromonas food isolates were highly variable in their biofilm forming abilities with majority of them as weak biofilm producers in 2 different media, TSB and M9 minimal medium supplemented with 0.4% glucose. The genes encoding for putative virulence factors, glycerophospholipid cholesterol acyltransferase (gcat), heat-labile cytotonic enterotoxin (alt), heat-stable cytotonic enterotoxin (ast), serine protease (ser), polar flagella (fla), and lateral flagella (lafA) were present in 95.5%, 59.1%, 22.7%, 81.8%, 77.3%, and 22.7% of the strains, respectively. Class 1 integrons (100 to 3000 bp) were found in 68.2% of food isolates; whereas, 50% isolates contained class 2 integrons (150 to 1600 bp). This study provides a baseline data on the diversity of AHLs, biofilm forming ability and presence of virulence genes and integrons in Aeromonas food isolates from India.

Microbiological quality of packaged sprouts from supermarkets in Mumbai, India

A survey to assess the potential public health risk related to consumption of minimally processed sprouts was conducted in retail establishments in Mumbai, India. A total of 80 sprout (40 mixed sprout and 40 alfalfa sprout) samples procured from two different supermarkets were tested for aerobic plate count (APC), coliform count (CC), staphylococcal count (SC) and for the presence of pathogens viz. Yersinia, Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus. APC, CC and SC for mixed and alfalfa sprouts were in the range of 7-8 log CFU/g, 6-8 log CFU/g and 3-5 log CFU/g, respectively. Salmonella, Y. enterocolitica, L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 and coagulase positive S. aureus were not detected in any of the samples analysed. Results from this study show that the packaged sprouts stored at low temperature (<8°C) in the supermarkets in Mumbai, India are of good microbiological quality and free from pathogens.