Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli are among zoonotic bacterial food-borne pathogens causing illness ranged from diarrhoea to fatal conditions. This study was undertaken to evaluate the occurrence of Staph. aureus and E. coli in small ruminants' raw milk and hands of dairy workers at small-scale production units, Giza, Egypt. A total of 420 raw milk samples were obtained from apparently healthy sheep and goats, also, hand swabs (n=46) from workers at the units under investigation were examined. Overall, Staph. aureus (13.1%, 55/420) and E. coli (26.2%, 110/420) isolates were obtained from raw milk of sheep and goats. However, only Staph. aureus (15.2%, 7/46) was recovered from hand swabs of dairy workers. Using PCR, all the tested Staph. aureus isolates from milk and hand swabs yielded specific bands of Thermonuclease ( nuc ) gene at 279 bp, however, amplification of virulence ( eae ) gene encoding the intimin protein of E. coli produced an amplicon of 917 bp in 45% of the tested E. coli isolates. In conclusion, our findings provide an overview about Staph. aureus and E. coli contamination in raw milk of small ruminants locally bred by smallholders and suggest probably transmission of Staph. aureus from hands of dairy workers that contaminate the milk or udder of apparently healthy animals. Reporting of such organisms from milk indicates the need for strict hygienic measures during milking at these production units.
Highlights
Milk is a highly nutritious food for human beings from childhood to senility
This study aimed to determine the frequency of two of the most important zoonotic bacterial pathogens, Staph aureus and E. coli, in small ruminants' raw milk and hands of their dairymen at small-scale production units in Giza, Egypt to evaluate the level of sanitary measures fulfilled by dairy workers during milking process
This study provides an overview about the frequency of two zoonotic bacterial pathogens that may be present in sheep and goat's raw milk and the probable risk of their transmission from their dairy workers at smallscale bred herds in Giza, Egypt
Summary
Milk is a highly nutritious food for human beings from childhood to senility. It serves as a good medium for the growth of many microorganisms especially bacterial pathogens in tropical areas. Raw milk and dairy products such as pasteurized milk and yoghurt contaminated with E. coli have been reported as the main cause of several food borne disease outbreaks since the 1980s and constitutes a serious health threat [13,14]. This study aimed to determine the frequency of two of the most important zoonotic bacterial pathogens, Staph aureus and E. coli, in small ruminants' raw milk and hands of their dairymen at small-scale production units in Giza, Egypt to evaluate the level of sanitary measures fulfilled by dairy workers during milking process. A total of 420 raw milk samples (220 sheep and 200 goats) were collected from small locally bred herds in Giza, Egypt. Typical E. coli colonies with green metallic sheen on EMB were transferred into nutrient agar plates and broth for further morphological identification and Gram staining as described previously [16,17] and biochemical identification using RapID ONE test (Oxoid, remel, USA) was carried out
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