Genotyping and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Clostridium perfringens and Clostridioides difficile in Camel Minced Meat.

Mahmoud Fayez,Othman M Alzahrani,Ahmed Elmoslemany,Ibrahim Elsohaby,Saleem J Alsunaini,Waleed R El-Ghareeb,Samy F Mahmoud,Mohamed Alkafafy

doi:10.3390/pathogens10121640

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine the occurrence, genotypes, and antimicrobial resistance of Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) and Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) in camel minced meat samples collected from small butcher shops and supermarkets in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Saudi Arabia. A total of 100 camel minced meat samples were randomly collected from small butcher’s shops (n = 50) and supermarkets (n = 50) in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Saudi Arabia. C. perfringens and C. difficile were isolated and identified using the VITEK-2 compact system and 16S rRNA gene amplification. Genotypes, toxin genes, and antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates were determined. Moreover, ELISA was used to detect C. perfringens and C. difficile toxins. C. perfringens and C. difficile were isolated from 14% and 4% of the tested minced meat samples, respectively. Out of the 14 C. perfringens isolates, type A (64.3%), type B (7.1%), type C (21.5%), and type D (7.1%) were detected. However, out of the four C. difficile isolates, three (75%) were type A+B+ and one (25%) was type A−B+. None of the C. perfringens or C. difficile toxins were identified using ELISA. C. perfringens and C. difficile isolates exhibited a high rate of resistance to tetracycline (56% and 75%, respectively). However, all isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanate. Multidrug resistance was observed in three (21.4%) C. perfringens and one (25%) C. difficile isolates. In conclusion, camel minced meat was contaminated with C. perfringens and C. difficile, which present a potential risk of food poisoning. The majority of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, and some isolates were multidrug-resistant. Therefore, food safety standards and frequent inspections of abattoirs, small butcher shops, and supermarkets should be enforced.

Highlights

Food hygiene is described as all the conditions and measures necessary to ensure that food is safe and fit for human consumption during production, processing, storage, distribution, and preparation [1]
The main goal of this study is to determine the occurrence, genotypes and antimicrobial resistance of C. perfringens and C. difficile in camel minced meat samples collected from small butcher shops and supermarkets in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Saudi Arabia
Out of the 100 minced meat samples tested in the present study, 14% and 4% were contaminated with C. perfringens and C. difficile, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Food hygiene is described as all the conditions and measures necessary to ensure that food is safe and fit for human consumption during production, processing, storage, distribution, and preparation [1]. Foodborne diseases are caused by food contamination and can occur at any stage of the food production, delivery, and consumption chain. There are over 200 foodborne hazards, including microbiological hazards such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and chemical contaminants, that arise naturally or due to pollution, food processing, packaging, transportation, or storage [2]. Foodborne illnesses and outbreaks are among the leading causes of death globally [3,4]. The magnitude of foodborne illnesses in 2010 included 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths worldwide [5,6]. Nausea, vomiting, retching, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, prostration, abdominal cramps, fever, chills, headache, and arthralgia are just a few of the symptoms [7]

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