Abstract
The presence of pathogenic organisms namely parasite species and bacteria in biofilms in veterinary settings, is a public health concern in relation to human and animal exposure. Veterinary clinics represent a significant risk factor for the transfer of pathogens from housed animals to humans, especially in cases of wound infection and the shedding of faecal matter. This study aims to provide a means of detecting veterinary relevant parasite species in bacterial biofilms, and to provide a means of disinfecting these biofilms. A real time PCR assay was utilized to detect parasite DNA in Bacillus cereus biofilms on stainless steel and PVC surfaces. Results show that both Cryptosporidium and Giardia attach to biofilms in large numbers (100-1000 oo/cysts) in as little as 72 hours. Pulsed light successfully inactivated all test species (Listeria, Salmonella, Bacillus, Escherichia) in planktonic and biofilm form with an increase in inactivation for every increase in UV dose.
Highlights
The prevention and control of veterinary related infections is an important aspect of public health and safety due to the occurrence of zoonotic infections
A similar level of cell density was detected on stainless steel surfaces, where a ca. 5 log10 to 6.6 log10 biofilm formed for B. cereus, L. monocytogenes, S. typhimurium and E. coli
The findings of this study suggest that 72 hour duration of incubation is sufficient to reproducibly produce a robust, densely populated biofilm of B. cereus, E. coli, L. monocytogenes and S. typhimurium using a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reactor
Summary
The prevention and control of veterinary related infections is an important aspect of public health and safety due to the occurrence of zoonotic infections. The use of surface disinfectants for the control of pathogens in clinical and veterinary settings has become important due to the increase in antibiotic resistant microbial species and zoonotic infections. The descriptive terms sessile and planktonic are used to describe surface adherent and free floating bacterial cells respectively Veterinary important species such as Listeria, Escherichia, Bacillus and Salmonella are capable of producing these biofilm structures allowing them to gain resistance to standard chemical disinfection methods. Biofilm structures are capable of trapping or incorporating other pathogenic species including enteric noroviruses (Wingender and Flemming, 2011) and parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium (DiCesare et al, 2012) Harbouring of such species shields them from cleaning and disinfection techniques, increasing their already high resistance to such treatments. The present study utilised a real time PCR assay to determine the extent at which Bacillus biofilm structures incorporated parasite species into their matrix, subsequently providing shelter from disinfection techniques
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