Isolation of Prototheca stagnora from frozen poultry meat
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PRELIMINARYCOMMUNICATION Isolation of Prototheca stagnora from frozen poultry meat A.R. Alaboudi* and I.M.S. Shnawa? The alga Prototheca stagnora was isolated from frozen poultry meat marketed in Mosul, Iraq. The public health and epidemiological significance of this finding is discussed. Keywords: Prototheca stagnora; poultry INTRODUCTION Protorheca is group of unicellular achloric yeast-like heterotrophic organisms belonging to the algae. They form part of the flora in soil, detritus, airospora and are found as transient colonizers of human and animal skin and alimentary tract. Prototheca has been isolated from ovine clinical material (Shnawa, 1986) and bovine clinical material (Al-Sadi and Shnawa, 1986). The genus Prorotheca comprises three species, namely P. zopffi, P. wiekerhamii and P. stagnora. The first two species cause human and animal infection while the pathogenicity of P. stugnora is in question (Rippon, 1982). Its pathogenicity has been studied in laboratory animals by Camargo et al. (1980). This communication d’escribes the isolation of P. stagnoru from frozen poultry meat. MATERIALS AND M:ETHODS Frozen chickens purchase’d from the local market were thawed overnight under refrigeration. The whole skin was removed aseptically and was rinsed in a flask containing 450ml 0.1% sterile peptone water. Ten composite skin samples each from five frozen birds were grown on poured plates of tetracycline/ chloramphenicol plate count agar (Koburger and Farhate, 1975) incubated at 25°C for 5 days. The isolate was characlerized by morphological and biochemical criteria (Berlrhoff et al., (1982); Camargo and Fischman, 1979). *Department of Animal Hygiene and Husbandry and +Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul, Mosul-Iraq RESULTS AND DISUCSSION From colony counts, the numbers of the organism were 1 c.f.u. cm-*. The organism was capsulated and arranged singly, or in pairs, tetrads and eight cells (endospores) in one capsule (thecum). The two to eight endosporulating cells measured 2.4-4.8pm in an indian ink preparation. Neither budding nor germ tube was formed. After 5 days at 25°C on brain/heart infusion agar, the growth was milky white, opaque, mucoid, dome shaped, glistening with an entire edge, 2-3 mm in diameter and of yeast-like appearance. The growth was enhanced on egg yolk agar, while weak growth was observed on blood agar and MacConkey agar. There may be a limiting factor for its growth. Trace or nil growth was observed on liquid and solid media at 37°C. The isolate was negative for urease, nitrate reductase and trehalese assimilation tests. These characteristics are consistent with the presence of P. sragnoru (Camarge and Fischman, 1979; Berkhoff et al., 1982). Thus P. sfagnoru is reported in local frozen poultry meat marketed for human consumption in the Mosul area. Such a finding is interesting for the following reasons. It may indicate fecal pollution of poultry meat; the meat may have been contaminated during processing; it may have arisen from an already established skin infection (this group of organisms is known to occur in animal cutaneous infections). The presence of this organism is not yet understood but it may be an alert for an unnoticed infection of poultry in this area. REFERENCES Al-Sadi, H.I. and Shnawa, I.M.S. (1986) Protothecosis in farm animals in Iraq. 8th Scientific Conferenceof the Iraqi Medical 0956-7135/90/030185-02 0 1990 Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd Food Control- July 1990 185
Transcript of Isolation of Prototheca stagnora from frozen poultry meat
PRELIMINARYCOMMUNICATION
Isolation of Prototheca stagnora from frozen poultry meat
A.R. Alaboudi* and I.M.S. Shnawa?
The alga Prototheca stagnora was isolated from frozen poultry meat marketed in Mosul, Iraq. The public health and epidemiological significance of this finding is discussed.
Keywords: Prototheca stagnora; poultry
INTRODUCTION
Protorheca is group of unicellular achloric yeast-like heterotrophic organisms belonging to the algae. They form part of the flora in soil, detritus, airospora and are found as transient colonizers of human and animal skin and alimentary tract. Prototheca has been isolated from ovine clinical material (Shnawa, 1986) and bovine clinical material (Al-Sadi and Shnawa, 1986). The genus Prorotheca comprises three species, namely P. zopffi, P. wiekerhamii and P. stagnora. The first two species cause human and animal infection while the pathogenicity of P. stugnora is in question (Rippon, 1982). Its pathogenicity has been studied in laboratory animals by Camargo et al. (1980).
This communication d’escribes the isolation of P. stagnoru from frozen poultry meat.
MATERIALS AND M:ETHODS
Frozen chickens purchase’d from the local market were thawed overnight under refrigeration. The whole skin was removed aseptically and was rinsed in a flask containing 450ml 0.1% sterile peptone water. Ten composite skin samples each from five frozen birds were grown on poured plates of tetracycline/ chloramphenicol plate count agar (Koburger and Farhate, 1975) incubated at 25°C for 5 days.
The isolate was characlerized by morphological and biochemical criteria (Berlrhoff et al., (1982); Camargo and Fischman, 1979).
*Department of Animal Hygiene and Husbandry and +Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul, Mosul-Iraq
RESULTS AND DISUCSSION
From colony counts, the numbers of the organism were 1 c.f.u. cm-*. The organism was capsulated and arranged singly, or in pairs, tetrads and eight cells (endospores) in one capsule (thecum). The two to eight endosporulating cells measured 2.4-4.8pm in an indian ink preparation. Neither budding nor germ tube was formed. After 5 days at 25°C on brain/heart infusion agar, the growth was milky white, opaque, mucoid, dome shaped, glistening with an entire edge, 2-3 mm in diameter and of yeast-like appearance. The growth was enhanced on egg yolk agar, while weak growth was observed on blood agar and MacConkey agar. There may be a limiting factor for its growth. Trace or nil growth was observed on liquid and solid media at 37°C.
The isolate was negative for urease, nitrate reductase and trehalese assimilation tests.
These characteristics are consistent with the presence of P. sragnoru (Camarge and Fischman, 1979; Berkhoff et al., 1982). Thus P. sfagnoru is reported in local frozen poultry meat marketed for human consumption in the Mosul area. Such a finding is interesting for the following reasons. It may indicate fecal pollution of poultry meat; the meat may have been contaminated during processing; it may have arisen from an already established skin infection (this group of organisms is known to occur in animal cutaneous infections). The presence of this organism is not yet understood but it may be an alert for an unnoticed infection of poultry in this area.
REFERENCES
Al-Sadi, H.I. and Shnawa, I.M.S. (1986) Protothecosis in farm animals in Iraq. 8th Scientific Conference of the Iraqi Medical
0956-7135/90/030185-02 0 1990 Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd Food Control- July 1990 185
Preliminary Communication: A. R. Aiaboudi and I. MS. Shnawa
Associution Iraqi Medical Association Hall, Al-Mansour Baghdad, Iraq
Rerkhoff, H.A., ConneRy, M.R. and Luckett, L.J. (1982) Differential microbiological diagnosis of protothecosis from non-human sour- ce. Am. 1. Med. Technol. 48, W-613
Camargo, Z.P.D.E., Fisehman, 0. and Silva, M.R.R. (1980) Experi- mental protothecesis in laboratory animals. Sabourudia 18, 237- 240
Camargo, Z.P.D.E. and Fischman, 0. (1979) Use of morphological characteristics for differentiation of the species of genus Profo- theta. Sabouradia 17.275278
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Koburger, J.A. and Farhat, B.Y. (1975) Fungi in foods VI: A comparison of media to enumerate yeast and molds. 1. Milk Food Technol. 38, 466-W
Rippon, J.W. (1982) Medical Mycology: The Pathogenic Fungi and the Puthogenic Actinomycefes. W.S. Saunders, Rio De Janeiro, Sydney, Tokyo
Shnaws I.M.S. (1986) Some ovine pathogens. Vet. Med. 1. (Cairo) 34,301-311
Received 10 July 1989 Revised 8 January 1990 Accepted 27 February 1990
Food Control - July 1990
