Search

Abstract: This study used molecular serogrouping to assess the presence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Listeria monocytogenes isolates from food products of different animal origin, collected from a county situated in the historical region of Transylvania in central Romania. Seventeen (7.7%) of 221 screened samples were positive for L. monocytogenes; these included 8 (6.2%) of 130 ready-to-eat products (i.e., sausages, ham, and smoked specialties), 6 (12.8%) of 47 raw meat samples (i.e., minced pork, pork organs, and snails), and 3 (6.8%) of 44 dairy samples (i.e., assortment of cheeses). The identified L. monocytogenes serogroups were 1/2a-3a (47.1%), 4b-4d-4e (29.4%), 1/2c-3c (11.8%), and 4a-4c (11.8%). All isolates were resistant to benzylpenicillin and fusidic acid. Resistance was also detected toward oxacillin (88.2%), fosfomycin (82.4%), clindamycin (76.5%), imipenem (52.9%), ciprofloxacin (41.2%), rifampin (41.2%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (29.4%), and tetracycline (29.4%). On the other hand, all isolates proved susceptible to gentamicin, moxifloxacin, teicoplanin, vancomycin, tigecycline, erythromycin, and linezolid. All tested strains exhibited multidrug resistance, resulting in the expression of a total of 12 resistance profiles. These findings extend the understanding of the spread of an important pathogen in Romanian food products, highlighting a substantial public health issue and medical concern, especially for consumers with a compromised health status., (Published 2022 by the International Association for Food Protection.)

Domestic and wild pigs, as intermediate hosts, can harbor tissue cysts of three Sarcocystis species namely S. miescheriana, S. suihominis and S. porcifelis. Out of them, S. suihominis is zoonotic. Romania is a country with high consumption of raw and/or undercooked traditional pork products. This fact may greatly favor the acquiring of the zoonotic Sarcocystis infections by humans, as definitive host. Based on this consideration and in order to investigate the occurrence and public health significance of Sarcocystis spp. in two western counties (Caraş-Severin and Timiş) of Romania, a total of 165 heart samples from hunted wild boars (Sus scrofa, n=101) and home slaughtered domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus, n=64) were screened using microscopic fresh examination and molecular methods. Microscopic examination revealed the presence of sarcocysts in 60.4% of wild boars, and 23.4% of domestic pigs. Genetic characterization of isolates through the PCR-RFLP procedure, targeting the 18S rRNA gene, was successfully achieved for all microscopically positive samples, indicating the presence of a single species, S. miescheriana, in both hosts. The identity of 13 selected S. miescheriana isolates was also confirmed through sequencing. The tested hosts older than 27 months were found to be significantly higher infected (p<0.05) with Sarcocystis than the 6 to ≤27months age group. Although the human infective S. suihominis has not been registered, for a more reliable epidemiological picture, further molecular studies enrolling a larger number of animals and diagnosis on human intestinal Sarcocystis infections are still necessary., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This survey was conducted to investigate the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Listeria monocytogenes isolates in the environment of a pig slaughterhouse raw processing plant complex in western Romania. A total of 97 environmental samples from food contact (n = 60) and nonfood contact (n = 37) surfaces were examined with standard methods. The susceptibility of the isolates to 17 antimicrobial agents was determined with the VITEK 2 automated system. Overall, 25 (25.8%) samples were positive for L. monocytogenes , with recovery rates of 23.3% (n = 14) and 29.7% (n = 11) for food contact and nonfood contact surfaces, respectively. All 25 tested isolates were resistant to benzylpenicillin, imipenem, and fusidic acid. Resistance was observed to oxacillin (23 isolates; 92%), fosfomycin (23 isolates; 92%), clindamycin (22 isolates; 88%), rifampin (14 isolates; 56%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (12 isolates; 48%), tetracycline (11 isolates; 44%), and ciprofloxacin (1 isolate; 4%). No resistance was found to seven tested agents: gentamicin, moxifloxacin, erythromycin, linezolid, teicoplanin, vancomycin, and tigecycline. All tested L. monocytogenes isolates were resistant to four to nine antimicrobial agents. These results indicate a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant L. monocytogenes isolates in this pork-processing environment, providing baseline information for hygienists and public health specialists.

Nematode worms of the genus Trichinella are zoonotic parasites with a worldwide distribution. The majority of the biomass of these nematodes circulates among wildlife, but when humans fail in the proper management of domestic animals and wildlife, Trichinella infections are transmitted from the sylvatic to the domestic environment. Such failures occur in Romania, where a high prevalence of Trichinella spiralis has been detected in domestic pigs. The aim of the present study was to provide data about the prevalence of Trichinella spp. infections in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) that are hunted in Romanian counties, in which the prevalences of Trichinella spp. infection in backyard and free-ranging pigs range from 0.17 to 2.5%, to determine the role played by this carnivore species in the transmission of the parasite to domestic cycle. A total of 121 animals from 45 hunting grounds of three counties were screened to detect Trichinella spp. larvae by the digestion method. Infections were detected in 26 (21.5%) foxes from 18 (40%) hunting grounds of the three counties (13/67 in Arad, 1/3 in Hunedoara, and 12/51 in Timiş). The mean larval density was 10.5 larvae per gram. Of the 25 successfully tested samples, the Trichinella larvae from 24 isolates were identified as T. britovi (96%), and the larvae from one isolate were identified as T. spiralis (4%). No mixed infections were recorded. The present results revealed that the red fox should be considered an important T. britovi reservoir in the sylvatic cycle; in contrast, the detection of only a single T. spiralis-positive isolate suggests that red foxes play a minor role in the epidemiology of the domestic cycle in the investigated area of western Romania., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Clinical characteristics and management of hemangioblastomas of the spinal cord associated with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome have been extensively covered in the literature. This report aims to analyze the characteristics and surgical treatment results of sporadic spinal hemangioblastomas (SSHB)., Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 14 patients with SSHB (8 men and 6 women) operated on during a span of 23 years. The median age was 41.5 years (24-70 years). von Hippel Lindau syndrome was excluded by imaging in all patients. The median follow-up was 4 years (1-23 years). We also conducted a meta-analysis of all 271 SSHB cases reported in the English-speaking language literature from 1967 to 2011., Results: Nine (64.3%) lesions were cervical, 3 (28.5%) were thoracic, and 1 (7.1%) was lumbar. Eight (57.1%) tumors were dorsal intramedullary, 4 (28.6%) were exophytic, 1 (7.1%) was intradural extramedullary, and 1 (7.1%) was completely extradural. Diffuse segmental cord enlargement was present in 7 patients (50%) and a cyst/syrinx was present in 7 (50%). These 14 patients underwent 15 operations, and gross total resection was achieved in all operations. There was no mortality. Symptoms improved after 8 (53.3%) of 15 operations, remained the same after 5 (33.3%), and worsened after 2 (13.3%). The mean Karnofsky performance score improved from 79.3 (± 17.5) to 87.3 (± 12.2) after 6 months of follow-up. There was one recurrence 15 years after magnetic resonance imaging confirmed total resection., Conclusions: The SSHBs occur most often in the upper spinal cord. Excellent surgical results and long-term outcome can be achieved using microsurgery alone with only rare recurrences., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Blood samples from 49 symptomatic dogs from 5 western and north-western counties of Romania were screened using microscopic examination, polymerase-chain-reaction-restriction-fragment-length-polymorphism procedure (PCR-RFLP), and sequence analysis. Results of the microscopic evaluation of stained blood smears revealed 45 positive samples with the presence of large and small intraerythrocytic piroplasms in 35 and 10 samples, respectively. Babesia canis (35/49, 71.4%) and Babesia gibsoni (14/49, 28.6%) were identified and differentiated by PCR-RFLP targeting the 18S rRNA gene. Results of the sequence analysis of all B. gibsoni and 17 randomly selected B. canis PCR products confirmed the PCR-RFLP-diagnosed species. The distribution of B. gibsoni infection was positively associated (p<0.001) with fighting dog breeds including infection in 12 American Pit Bull Terriers and one American Staffordshire Terrier. This report is the first to present molecular evidence of the occurrence of B. gibsoni in Romania confirmed by sequencing., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

This study was undertaken to investigate the occurrence and public health significance of Cryptosporidium species/genotypes and subtypes in a newborn lambs. A total of 175 diarrheic fecal samples from lambs (younger than 21 days) were collected in seven sheep flocks located in western Romania, and were microscopically examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts after staining with modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique. Twenty-four (13.7%) fecal samples were tested Cryptosporidium positive by microscopy and were subjected for molecular characterization. All positive samples were successfully amplified through a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene (18S). Cryptosporidium species were determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the secondary PCR products using the conventional SspI and VspI restriction enzymes. The identified species were: Cryptosporidium parvum (20/24), C. ubiquitum (2/24) and C. xiaoi (2/24), respectively. PCR-RFLP results for C. ubiquitum and C. xiaoi isolates were confirmed by DNA sequencing. Subsequently, subtyping of seven randomly selected C. parvum isolates, based on sequence analysis of the GP60 gene, revealed the presence of five different subtypes (IIaA17G1R1, IIaA16G1R1, IIdA20G1, IIdA24G1 and IIdA22G2R1) belonging in two zoonotic subtype families (IIa and IId). These findings may suggest the potential role of the newborn lambs as a source for human cryptosporidiosis. This is the first published report about the presence of C. ubiquitum and C. xiaoi in lambs from Romania., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)