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Campylobacter is a major cause of foodborne gastroenteritis worldwide, with the mishandling of contaminated chicken meat among the main pathways for human infection. Granted the disease burden due to this pathogen, systematic assessments of its potential impact are necessary. The aims of this study were to evaluate both presence and load of Campylobacter in chicken meat sold in traditional markets, assess risk factors related with the infrastructure and hygienic conditions of market stalls, and evaluate control strategies for campylobacteriosis in Peru through a quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA), a data-driven, systematic approach to quantitatively assess risks by integrating empirical contamination levels, microbial behavior, and consumer exposure. Between February and December 2022, a total of 90 chicken meat samples from traditional markets were sampled and evaluated by both culture and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Campylobacter spp. were detected in 28 % and 76 % of samples with a mean quantification of 3.3 log 10 CFU/g and 4.9 log 10 GC/g through culture and qPCR, respectively. Market stalls with tap water showed higher prevalence and loads, while those without refrigeration had higher quantifications. The QMRA analysis, using the most conservative parameters and bacterial load, indicated that the entire modeled population develops campylobacteriosis at least once annually. These results highlight the public health impact of Campylobacter, potentially linked to the alarming number of Guillain-Barré syndrome cases observed in Peru. Our study suggests that consumer-level interventions, such as reducing kitchen cross-contamination and improving chicken meat storage, could substantially reduce campylobacteriosis cases in this population., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Nontyphoidal Salmonella is one of the major causes of self-limiting diarrheal disease and the most common foodborne pathogen worldwide. It is an important contributor to the burden of foodborne illness in South America, including Peru, where chicken and pork are important vehicles for Salmonella infection. Salmonella infections are underreported, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where concerted action tackling Salmonella along the chicken and pork chains, from primary production to retail, is urgently needed. To support and inform the implementation of new strategies to reduce Salmonella contamination of chicken and pork, this study describes the frequency and distribution of foodborne outbreaks attributed to Salmonella in Peru and evaluates the level of Salmonella in chicken and pork meat sold in markets of three regions of Peru. To that end, we analyzed historical reports of foodborne outbreaks, levels of Salmonella in chicken and pork sold in markets, and the number of mesophiles in the collected meat samples. As a result, the microbiological analysis reveals a widespread contamination of chicken (77.1%) and pork (26.8%) with Salmonella. It also pinpoints Salmonella as the causative agent in nearly half of the outbreaks (47.0%) where the potential origin is identified over a 11-year period with chicken, mayonnaise, and pork being the most likely food vehicles. These results suggest that Salmonella is a major contributor to foodborne illness in Peru and that the monitoring of mesophiles could be a good strategy for surveillance, generating data to support source attribution studies and ultimately evidence-informed policies.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has demonstrated that Wastewater Based Epidemiology is a fast and economical alternative for monitoring severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at the community level in high-income countries. In the present study, wastewater from a city in the Peruvian Highlands, which lacks a wastewater treatment plant, was monitored for one year to assess the relationship between the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and the reported cases of COVID-19 in the community. Additionally, we compared the relationship between rotavirus (RV), norovirus genogroup II (NoV GGII), and human adenovirus (HAdV) with the number of reported cases of acute gastroenteritis. Before commencing the analysis of the samples, the viral recovery efficacy of three processing methods was determined in spiked wastewater with SARS-CoV-2. This evaluation demonstrated the highest recovery rate with direct analysis (72.2 %), as compared to ultrafiltration (50.8 %) and skimmed milk flocculation (5.6 %). Wastewater monitoring revealed that 72 % (36/50) of the samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, with direct analysis yielding the highest detection frequency and quantification of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, a strong correlation was observed between the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and the reported cases of COVID-19, mainly when we shift the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 by two weeks, which allows us to anticipate the onset of the fourth and fifth waves of the pandemic in Peru up to two weeks in advance. All samples processed using the skimmed milk flocculation method tested positive and showed high concentrations of RV, NoV GGII, and HAdV. In fact, the highest RV concentrations were detected up to four weeks before outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis reported in children under four years of age. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that periodic wastewater monitoring is an excellent epidemiological tool for surveillance and can anticipate outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, in low- and middle-income countries., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is a food and waterborne pathogen with severe public health implications. We report the first-time isolation of this pathogen in the Central Highlands of Peru through standardized culture procedures and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Escherichia coli strains were cultured from rectal-anal swabs from dairy calves and beef from food markets. The latex agglutination test was used to detect O157 and H7 antigens, and multiplex real-time PCR was carried out to detect virulence-related genes. The STEC O157:H7 strains were isolated from 3.5% (1/28) of beef samples and from 6.0% (3/50) of dairy calves that also carried both eaeA and stx1 genes. Therefore, this pathogen is a potential cause of food/waterborne disease in the region, and its surveillance in both livestock and their products should be improved to characterize the impact of its zoonotic transmission. From 2010 to 2020, E. coli was suspected in 10 outbreaks reported to the Peruvian Ministry of Health. Isolates from future outbreaks should be characterized to assess the burden posed by STEC O157:H7 in Peru.

Taenia solium is an important cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide and remains endemic in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Transmission of this parasite is still poorly understood despite the design of infection experiments to improve our knowledge of the disease, with estimates for critical epidemiological parameters, such as the probability of human-to-pig infection after exposure to eggs, still lacking. In this paper, a systematic review was carried out and eight pig infection experiments were analyzed to describe the probability of developing cysts. These experiments included different pathways of inoculation: with ingestion of proglottids, eggs, and beetles that ingested eggs, and direct injection of activated oncospheres into the carotid artery. In these experiments, different infective doses were used, and the numbers of viable and degenerated cysts in the body and brain of each pig were registered. Five alternative dose-response models (exponential, logistic, log-logistic, and exact and approximate beta-Poisson) were assessed for their accuracy in describing the observed probabilities of cyst development as a function of the inoculation dose. Dose-response models were developed separately for the presence of three types of cysts (any, viable only, and cysts in the brain) and considered for each of the four inoculation methods ("Proglottids", "Eggs", "Beetles" and "Carotid"). The exact beta-Poisson model best fit the data for the three types of cysts and all relevant exposure pathways. However, observations for some exposure pathways were too scarce to reliably define a dose-response curve with any model. A wide enough range of doses and sufficient sample sizes was only found for the "Eggs" pathway and a merged "Oral" pathway combining the "Proglottids", "Eggs" and "Beetles" pathways. Estimated parameter values from this model suggest that a low infective dose is sufficient to result in a 50% probability for the development of any cyst or for viable cyst infections. Although this is a preliminary model reliant on a limited dataset, the parameters described in this manuscript should contribute to the design of future experimental infections related to T. solium transmission, as well as the parameterization of simulation models of transmission aimed at informing control., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

White adipose tissue (WAT) nucleated stromal cells (NSC) play important roles in regulation, defense, regeneration and metabolic control. In WAT sites, the proportions and functions of NSC change under diverse physiological or pathologic conditions. We had previously observed the massive anaerobic wasting of glucose to lactate and glycerol in rat epididymal adipocytes. To test site variability, and whether the adipocyte extensive anaerobic metabolism of glucose was found in NSC, we analyzed, in parallel, subcutaneous, mesenteric and epididymal WAT of male adult Wistar rats. Adipocytes and NSC fractions, were isolated, counted and incubated (as well as red blood cells: RBC) with glucose, and their ability to use glucose and produce lactate, glycerol, and free fatty acids was measured. Results were computed taking into account the number of cells present in WAT samples. Cell numbers were found in proportions close to 1:13:100 (respectively, for adipocytes, NSC and RBC) but their volumes followed a reversed pattern: 7,500:10:1. When counting only non-fat cell volumes, the ratios changed dramatically to 100:10:1. RBC contribution to lactate production was practically insignificant. In most samples, NSC produced more lactate than adipocytes did, but only adipocytes secreted glycerol (and fatty acids in smaller amounts). Glucose consumption was also highest in NSC, especially in mesenteric WAT. The heterogeneous NSC showed a practically anaerobic metabolism (like that already observed in adipocytes). Thus, NSC quantitative production of lactate markedly contributed (i.e. more than adipocytes) to WAT global use (wasting) of glucose. We also confirmed that glucose-derived glycerol is exclusively produced by adipocytes.

Under normoxic conditions, adipocytes in primary culture convert huge amounts of glucose to lactate and glycerol. This "wasting" of glucose may help to diminish hyperglycemia. Given the importance of insulin in the metabolism, we have studied how it affects adipocyte response to varying glucose levels, and whether the high basal conversion of glucose to 3-carbon fragments is affected by insulin. Rat fat cells were incubated for 24 h in the presence or absence of 175 nM insulin and 3.5, 7, or 14 mM glucose; half of the wells contained 14 C-glucose. We analyzed glucose label fate, medium metabolites, and the expression of key genes controlling glucose and lipid metabolism. Insulin increased both glucose uptake and the flow of carbon through glycolysis and lipogenesis. Lactate excretion was related to medium glucose levels, which agrees with the purported role of disposing excess (circulating) glucose. When medium glucose was low, most basal glycerol came from lipolysis, but when glucose was high, release of glycerol via breakup of glycerol-3P was predominant. Although insulin promotes lipogenesis, it also limited the synthesis of glycerol-3P from glucose and its incorporation into acyl-glycerols. We assume that this is a mechanism of adipose tissue defense to avoid crippling fat accumulation which has not yet been described.

Background: Adult rat epididymal adipocytes are able to convert large amounts of glucose to lactate and glycerol. However, fatty acid efflux is much lower than that expected from glycerol levels if they were the product of lipolysis. Use of glucose for lipogenesis is limited, in contrast with the active glycolysis-derived lactate (and other 3-carbon substrates). In this study, we analyzed whether white adipose tissue (WAT) site and sex affect these processes., Methods: Mature adipocytes from perigonadal, mesenteric and subcutaneous WAT of female and male rats were isolated, and incubated with 7 or 14 mM glucose during 1 or 2 days. Glucose consumption, metabolite efflux and gene expression of glycolytic and lipogenesis-related genes were measured., Results: The effects of medium initial glucose concentration were minimal on most parameters studied. Sex-induced differences that were more extensive; however, the most marked, distinct, effects between WAT sites, were dependent on the time of incubation. In general, the production of lactate was maintained during the incubation, but glycerol release rates increased with time, shifting from a largely glycolytic origin to its triacylglycerol (TAG) lipolytic release. Glycerol incorporation was concurrent with increased TAG turnover: lipolytic glycerol was selectively secreted, while most fatty acids were recycled again into TAG. Fatty acid efflux increased with incubation, but was, nevertheless, minimal compared with that of glycerol. Production of lactate and glycerol from glucose were maximal in mesenteric WAT., Discussion: Female rats showed a higher adipocyte metabolic activity than males. In mesenteric WAT, gene expression (and substrate efflux) data suggested that adipocyte oxidation of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA was higher in females than in males, with enhanced return of oxaloacetate to the cytoplasm for its final conversion to lactate. WAT site differences showed marked tissue specialization-related differences. Use of glucose for lipogenesis was seriously hampered over time, when TAG turnover-related lipolysis was activated. We postulate that these mechanisms may help decrease glycaemia and fat storage, producing, instead, a higher availability of less-regulated 3-carbon substrates, used for energy elsewhere., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

White adipose tissue can metabolize large amounts of glucose to glycerol and lactate. We quantitatively traced glucose label to lactate, glycerol and fats in primary cultures of mature rat epididymal adipocytes. Cells were incubated with 7/14 mM 14 C-glucose for 24/48 h. Medium metabolites and the label in them and in cells' components were measured. Gene expression analysis was done using parallel incubations. Glucose concentration did not affect lactate efflux and most parameters. Glycerol efflux increased after 24 h, coinciding with arrested lipogenesis. Steady production of lactate was maintained in parallel to glycerogenesis. Changes in adipocyte metabolism were paralleled by gene expression. Glucose use for lipogenesis was minimal, and stopped (24 h-onwards) when glycerol efflux increased because of triacylglycerol turnover. Lactate steady efflux showed that anaerobic glycolysis was the main adipocyte source of energy. We can assume that adipose tissue may play a quantitatively significant effect on glycaemia, returning 3C fragments thus minimizing lipogenesis.

White adipose tissue (WAT) produces large amounts of lactate and glycerol from glucose. We used mature epididymal adipocytes to analyse the relative importance of glycolytic versus lipogenic glycerol in adipocytes devoid of external stimuli. Cells were incubated (24/48 h) with 7/14 mM glucose; half of the wells contained 14 C-glucose. We analysed glucose label fate, medium metabolites, and the expression of key genes coding for proteins controlling glycerol metabolism. The effects of initial glucose levels were small, but time of incubation increased cell activity and modified its metabolic focus. The massive efflux of lactate was uniform with time and unrelated to glucose concentration; however, glycerol-3P synthesis was higher in the second day of incubation, being largely incorporated into the glycerides-glycerol fraction. Glycerophosphatase expression was not affected by incubation. The stimulation of glycerogenic enzymes' expression was mirrored in lipases. The result was a shift from medium glycolytic to lipolytic glycerol released as a consequence of increased triacylglycerol turnover, in which most fatty acids were recycled. Production of glycerol seems to be an important primary function of adipocytes, maintained both by glycerogenesis and acyl-glycerol turnover. Production of 3C fragments may also contribute to convert excess glucose into smaller, more readily usable, 3C metabolites.

Background: White adipose tissue (WAT) is a complex, diffuse, multifunctional organ which contains adipocytes, and a large proportion of fat, but also other cell types, active in defense, regeneration and signalling functions. Studies with adipocytes often require their isolation from WAT by breaking up the matrix of collagen fibres; however, it is unclear to what extent adipocyte number in primary cultures correlates with their number in intact WAT, since recovery and viability are often unknown., Experimental Design: Epididymal WAT of four young adult rats was used to isolate adipocytes with collagenase. Careful recording of lipid content of tissue, and all fraction volumes and weights, allowed us to trace the amount of initial WAT fat remaining in the cell preparation. Functionality was estimated by incubation with glucose and measurement of glucose uptake and lactate, glycerol and NEFA excretion rates up to 48 h. Non-adipocyte cells were also recovered and their sizes (and those of adipocytes) were measured. The presence of non-nucleated cells (erythrocytes) was also estimated., Results: Cell numbers and sizes were correlated from all fractions to intact WAT. Tracing the lipid content, the recovery of adipocytes in the final, metabolically active, preparation was in the range of 70-75%. Cells showed even higher metabolic activity in the second than in the first day of incubation. Adipocytes were 7%, erythrocytes 66% and other stromal (nucleated cells) 27% of total WAT cells. However, their overall volumes were 90%, 0.05%, and 0.2% of WAT. Non-fat volume of adipocytes was 1.3% of WAT., Conclusions: The methodology presented here allows for a direct quantitative reference to the original tissue of studies using isolated cells. We have also found that the "live cell mass" of adipose tissue is very small: about 13 µL/g for adipocytes and 2 µL/g stromal, plus about 1 µL/g blood (the rats were killed by exsanguination). These data translate (with respect to the actual "live cytoplasm" size) into an extremely high metabolic activity, which make WAT an even more significant agent in the control of energy metabolism., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.