Published in Nature Reviews Microbiology
Antibiotic persistence contributes to the survival of bacteria during antibiotic treatment. In this Consensus Statement, scientists working on the response of bacteria to antibiotics define antibiotic persistence and provide practical guidance on how to study bacterial persisters.
This study was performed with the aim to investigate and compare the level of pest control knowledge among food handlers in Serbia and Greece and to assess pest control practices in food establishments in the two countries. Total of 695 food handlers were involved in this study with 395 food handlers from Serbia and 300 food handlers from Greece. F...
Maintaining free chlorine (FC) residual at appropriate pH values is a control approach used to prevent pathogen cross-contamination during tomato dump tank handling and fresh-cut produce washing operations. Oxidation reduction potential (ORP) is a rapid measurement of oxidant-based sanitizer strength, and has been used to estimate FC residual. Howe...
The aim of this study was to characterize serotypes, phenotypic antimicrobial resistance patterns, and plasmid profiles of 55 Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica isolates in different matrices from 77 pork outlets in Kampala, Uganda. Seven different serovars were identified, namely Enteritidis (60%), Offa (10.9%), Gallinarum (7.3%), Arechavaleta (m...
The bacterial storage compound poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate, a polymer of the short-chain fatty acid 3-hydroxybutyrate, has been reported to protect various aquatic animals from bacterial disease. In order to obtain a better mechanistic insight, we aimed to (1) investigate whether 3-hydroxybutyrate is released from poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate within ste...
Background: Double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) is considered the gold standard for food allergy diagnosis. However, this test is rarely performed routinely in clinical practice because of various practical issues, e.g. the lack of a standardized matrix preparation. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a convenient...
Free chlorine is used in industrial fresh-cut produce washing to avoid cross-contamination from pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, although chlorine dosing typically depends on feedback control. Control of free chlorine levels in fresh-cut produce wash water could be improved if chlorine demand (CLD) could be determined real-time, during proce...
Cleaning and disinfection (C&D) of poultry houses is an essential aspect in farm hygiene management. Adequate performance of the different steps of a C&D protocol and the use of suitable products are key to prevent and control zoonoses and animal diseases. Hygiene monitoring on total aerobic flora through sampling with agar contact plates at differ...
Farm biosecurity includes the prevention of disease transmission within and between farms. Two studies were set up to investigate what motivates and withholds farmers to implement biosecurity measures. The first study aimed to assess the perception of cattle farmers towards biosecurity and to identify possible reasons for its low application. This ...
This study quantified cefotaxime-resistant E. coli (CREC) on nine different carcass areas of 104 freshly slaughtered pig carcasses. In 49% [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 29-69%] of the carcasses CREC could be isolated and enumerated (using Tryptone Bile Agar with X-Glucuronide supplemented with 1 mg / L cefotaxime). Proportions of positive samp...
