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The global prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is continuously rising, however, a little is known concerning intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) and (IBD). We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of IPIs among IBD patients, through a case-control study and also, to correlate the positive cases to the socio-demographic risk factors of IPIs among the study groups. A 1-year case-control study included patients with IBD (n=125) and healthy controls (n=125). The fecal samples were examined with the classical parasitological methods for intestinal parasites. Also, in-vitro culture (for Blastocystis sp.) and Immuno-chromatography technique (for Cryptosporidium / Giardia /Entamoeba) were done. IBD patients had significant higher positivity rate of IPIs compared to healthy controls (Adjusted OR= 9.60, 95% CI: 4.51-20.41, P = 0.0001), with Blastocystis sp., Entamoeba dispar/ histolytica and Cryptosporidium sp. being highly significant in IBD patients. In addition to IBD, living in rural area, with low socio-economic stander, and consumed raw/contaminated food and age group > 50 years old were significant risk factors for IPIs. In conclusion, our results support a possible link between IPIs and IBD.

Introduction: Enteric viruses have been associated with the production of a variety of diseases transmitted by the fecal-oral route and carried through contaminated food and water. Given their structure and composition, they are highly resistant to environmental conditions and most of the chemical agents used in the purification processes. Therefore, the systematic monitoring of raw water is necessary to ensure its quality especially when it is used for producing drinking water for human consumption. Objective: We identifed the presence of rotavirus and hepatitis A virus by means of the fluoro-immuno-magnetic separation technique (FIMS) in raw water taken from four purification plants and their water supplies in the department of Norte de Santander. Materials and methods: The viruses were captured and separated from the water samples using magnetic microparticles functionalized with monoclonal anti-Hepatitis A and antiRotavirus antibodies. Confocal microscopy was used to monitor the viral concentration process and transmission electron microscopy for the morphological visualization of the separated viruses. The reverse transcriptase-coupled polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was applied to confrm the presence of pathogens. Results: The two enteric viruses were identifed in the majority of the analyzed water samples including water supply sources. Conclusion: We determined that the FIMS technique together with RT-PCR is highly effective for the detection of viral pathogens in complex matrices such as raw water. Resumen: Introducción. Los virus entéricos se asocian con una serie de enfermedades transmitidas por vía fecal-oral en alimentos o agua contaminada. Dada su estructura y composición, son muy resistentes a las condiciones ambientales y a la mayoría de los agentes químicos empleados en los procesos de potabilización, por lo cual es necesario un monitoreo sistemático del agua cruda para asegurar su calidad, máxime cuando se emplea como materia prima en la producción de agua potable para consumo humano. Objetivo. Determinar la presencia de rotavirus y del virus de la hepatitis A mediante la técnica de separación fluoro-inmuno-magnética en agua cruda procedente de cuatro plantas de potabilización y sus fuentes hídricas en el departamento de Norte de Santander. Materiales y métodos. Los virus fueron capturados y separados a partir de las muestras de agua, empleando micropartículas magnéticas funcionalizadas con anticuerpos monoclonales anti-hepatitis A y anti-rotavirus. Se empleó microscopía confocal para hacer el seguimiento del proceso de concentración viral y, microscopía electrónica de transmisión, para la visualización morfológica de los virus separados. La reacción en cadena de la polimerasa acoplada a transcriptasa inversa (RT-PCR) se utilizó para confrmar la presencia de los patógenos. Resultados. Los dos virus entéricos se detectaron en la mayoría de las muestras de agua analizadas, incluidas las de sus fuentes hídricas. Conclusión. La técnica de separación fluoro-inmuno-magnética acoplada a RT-PCR fue altamente efectiva en la detección de patógenos virales en matrices complejas como el agua cruda.

Deoxynivalenol (DON), which is known as one of the most harmful mycotoxins, has contaminated food and feed and attracted concerns worldwide. However, the effective adsorptive removal of DON to ensure food safety still is a challenge, which is ascribed to the poor planarity and larger steric hindrance of DON molecules. Here, a new Zr(IV)-based metal-organic framework, entitled BUT-16 with one-dimensional channels and N-atom-decorated pore surface, is designed, prepared, and utilized for the adsorptive removal of DON. It exhibits excellent adsorption ability with an adsorption capacity of 46 mg/g higher than all reported adsorbents until now and a rapid adsorption rate of 0.031 g mg-1 min-1. DFT calculation and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results of the guest-loaded phase suggest that the record-breaking adsorption could be due to the cooperation of hydrogen bonding and Zr···O interaction between DON molecules and BUT-16 host. Most importantly, BUT-16 can effectively adsorb and remove DON in the simulated gastric fluid, but DON adsorbed on BUT-16 is hardly desorbed in the simulated intestinal fluid. The results demonstrate that BUT-16 has great promising application for the control of DON in foods and feeds.

We assessed fiddler crabs' (Minuca burgersi) ability to secrete metallic contaminants through ecdysis under controlled conditions. We fed them with contaminated food with different copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) amounts and measured their concentration in the released and renewed exuviae. We found a significant reduction in the average concentrations of Cu and Pb in the released and renewed exuviae-eliminating the exoskeleton in the ecdysis process helps in the metal detoxification mechanism of these animals. A portion of the concentration of metals is retained in the crustaceans' exuvia, and thus, they can be used to analyze bioaccumulation in ecosystems. Our results also reinforce the need for attention to the contamination characterization in crustaceans before and after ecdysis to avoid underestimation effects.

Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the presence of T. gondii, Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts, and G. duodenalis cysts, in three leafy greens (coriander, lettuce, and parsley) commonly consumed raw. Despite the recognition of the association between the parasitic illnesses and the consumption of contaminated food, there is still a lack of studies investigating the occurrence of parasitic contamination in food matrices. Methods A total of 152 leafy green samples were collected in Marrakech from April 2018 to October 2019. Parasites were eluted and concentrated before detection of their DNA by real-time qPCR. Results The analysis revealed an overall rate of contamination of 32.2% (49/152), with 29.6% (45/152) positive for T. gondii and 2.6% (4/152) for G. duodenalis, while none was positive for Cryptosporidium spp. Conclusion The results showed that humans can be exposed to protozoan parasites through vegetables consumption. Further investigations can be performed to acquire new epidemiological data to assess the public health impact of these protozoan diseases in Morocco.

Objetivo: Evidenciar os impactos do uso de agrotóxicos no organismo humano que ocasionam diversos problemas de saúde e, em alguns casos, levam a fatalidade, trazendo métodos utilizados para combater a intoxicação. Método: Realizou-se o estudo por revisão bibliográfica integrativa, selecionando artigos pelos bancos de dados SciELO, PubMed, MEDLINE e a plataforma BVS, nos quais foram retiradas publicações de 2016 a 2021. Resultados: A temática exposta mostrou-se importante podendo assim ser utilizado com o intuito de proporcionar conhecimento, principalmente aos trabalhadores rurais que fazem o manuseio dos agrotóxicos. Conclusão: Neste estudo, foi observado grande importância na temática em questão, uma vez que o mesmo possibilitou observar os malefícios causados na vida dos agricultores que são os mais afetados, por terem um contato direto com os agroquimicos, e de toda a população que consome alimentos contaminados em excesso, trazendo novos conhecimentos aos profissionais de saúde, em especial aos biomédicos.

Introduction Chagas disease (CD) was discovered in 1909 by the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, who described the etiological agent – a flagellated protozoan named Trypanosoma cruzi ( T. cruzi ) – its morphological features and transmission and life cycle, as well as clinical manifestations of the disease. Although triatomine insects are the primary transmission vectors of CD, the oral route through contaminated food has been considered the main transmission path in the Brazilian Amazon. The disease presents two clinical phases: [...]

This paper represents the first result of an active collaboration between the University of Sannio and the San Pio Hospital (Benevento, Italy), started in the 2018, that aims to a detailed mineralogical investigation of urinary stones of patients from Campania region. Herein, selected human bladder stones have been deeply characterized for clinical purposes and environmental biomonitoring, focusing on the importance to evaluate the concentration and distribution of undesired trace elements by means of microscopic techniques in the place of conventional wet chemical analyses. A rare bladder stones with a sea-urchin appearance, known as jackstone calculus, were also investigated (along with bladder stones made of uric acid and brushite) by means a comprehensive analytical approach, including Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction and Simultaneous Thermal Analyses. Main clinical assumptions were inferred according to the morpho-constitutional classification of bladder stones and information about patient’s medical history and lifestyle. In most of the analyzed uroliths, undesired trace elements such as copper, cadmium, lead, chromium, mercury and arsenic have been detected and generally attributable to environmental pollution or contaminated food. Simultaneous occurrence of selenium and mercury should denote a methylmercury detoxification process, probably leading to the formation of a very rare HgSe compound known as tiemannite.

As a notorious food-borne pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus can readily cause diseases in humans via contaminated food. Biofilm formation on various surfaces can increase the capacity of viable S. aureus cells for self-protection due to the stubborn structure of the biofilm matrix. Increased disease risk and economic losses caused by biofilm contamination in the food industry necessitate the urgent development of effective strategies for the inhibition and removal of S. aureus biofilms. Natural products have been extensively used as important sources of "eco-friendly" antibiofilm agents to avoid the side effects of conventional strategies on human health and the environment. This review discusses biofilm formation of S. aureus in food industries and focuses on providing an overview of potential promising target-oriented natural products and their mechanisms of S. aureus biofilm inhibition or removal. Hoping to provide valuable information of attractive research targets or potential undeveloped targets to screen potent natural anti-biofilm agents in food industries.

Foodborne infections continue to plague Europe. Food safety monitoring is in crisis as the existing techniques for detecting pathogens do not keep up with the global rising of food production and consumption. Thus, the development of innovative techniques for detecting and identifying pathogenic bacteria has become critical. The aim of the present study was firstly to develop an innovative simple and low cost method of extracting bacterial DNA from contaminated food and water samples with Salmonella enteric(a) subsp. enteric(a) serovar Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes and its comparison with two commercial DNA extraction kits (Qiagen, Macherey-Nagel). Finally, pathogens' detection using two molecular techniques (PCR-electrophoresis, LAMP), in order to evaluate the best combination of DNA extraction and identification based on their sensitivity, cost, rapidity and simplicity. Considering the above criteria, among them, best was proved an in-house bacterial DNA extraction method, based on the chloroform-isoamyl alcohol protocol, with certain modifications. This technique showed statistically similar results in terms of sensitivity, compared to the commercial kits, while at the same time maintained high rapidity and much lower cost. Lastly, between the molecular techniques, LAMP was found more promising considering its simplicity, high rapidity and sensitivity. Conclusively, the in-house DNA extraction method along with the LAMP technique, was proven to be the best among the presented combinations.

Food, although of paramount importance to humans, becomes a public health problem when contaminated by pathogens and chemicals, which can cause serious food poisoning diseases. Objective: The present study aims to analyze the epidemiological profile of food poisoning occurring between 2011 and 2020 in Santarém city, Western Pará State. Methodology: The study was carried out in a descriptive, observational and retrospective way, where public documents from the Technical Center for Health Surveillance of Santarém about officially notified cases of food poisoning were analyzed. Results: In the period investigated, 32 cases of intoxication were reported, with the highest number of cases recorded occurring in 2011 (46,9%). The predominance of food poisoning was higher in females (65,6%) and the most frequent age group among cases corresponded to 10 to 14 years (25%) and 20 to 34 years (21,9%). The residences were the places with the highest incidence of food poisoning (50%) and possibly due to the lack of information on food handling, a consequence of low education of the interviewees (88,9%). Finally, most of informants had a single acute form of intoxication (96,9%) and without sequelae after treatment. Conclusion: Educational acts on the case can help reduce cases of food poisoning, as well as stimulate the official notification, improving the planning of the Health Surveillance and public administration.

An amphiphilic chromogenic probe based on an oxidized di(indolyl)arylmethane backbone has been utilized for visual detection of both Cu

As doenças transmitidas por alimentos (DTAs) são definidas como enfermidades infecciosas ou tóxicas causadas pelo consumo de alimentos ou água contaminados. Na atualidade, são consideradas um dos maiores problemas mundiais de saúde pública. Dentro do contexto das DTAs, a higiene pessoal e a manipulação inadequada de alimentos no ambiente doméstico têm sido apontadas como importantes fatores de risco para a ocorrência de surtos. Baseado nestas considerações, o presente projeto de extensão universitária foi desenvolvido no intuito de instruir crianças em idade escolar sobre a importância da higiene pessoal e da manipulação adequada de alimentos, de modo que estas disseminem a informação a seus pais e familiares. O projeto foi instituido em uma escola pública do município de Botucatu-SP e atingiu 491 crianças de 5 a 11 anos. As atividades foram aplicadas em três ações prioritárias, sendo elas: 1) Palestra introdutória lúdica e interativa; 2) Gincana com brincadeiras e atividades formativas práticas e; 3) Entrega de certificados de participação e uma cartilha contendo informações e jogos com enfoque nos assuntos abordados, de modo a possibilitar a disseminação das informações para os familiares e amigos dos participantes. Os alunos demonstraram grande interesse pelo assunto, enfatizando a importância dessa abordagem nas escolas. Foi possível promover, portando, educação em saúde de forma prazerosa, de modo a evitar doenças relacionadas à precária higiene pessoal e à manipulação incorreta de alimentos.

During fieldwork on cancer in Kisumu, western Kenya, the author slowly began, like those around her, to ask questions about its location and its temporalities, its beginnings and endings, its boundaries and entanglements with toxicants. In this article, the author describes the landscapes of exposure that people in western Kenya associate with an increasingly visible cancer epidemic, including concerns based on partial and tentative knowledge about the toxicity of foods. Starting from conversations about cancer, home, food and toxicity, she moves towards livelihoods, economies and ecologies, and the food and agricultural systems in which these exposures and uncertainties are embedded.

Nowadays, scientific research revolution is going on in many areas, and the human health is one of them. However, in the earlier studies, it was observed that most of the people health in the world affects by consumptions of contaminated food which is dangerous for human health and country economy. Recent studies showed that the fresh vegetables and fruits are the major habitat for endophytic bacterial communities. Salmonella and Escherichia coli both are the very common bacteria founds in fresh vegetables and fruits. Generally, many people eat vegetables and fruits without cooking (in the form of salad). The continued assumption of such food increases the health risk factor for foodborne diseases. So, from the last decades, many researchers working to understand about the relationship of endophytic microbes with plants either isolated bacteria are pathogenic or nonpathogenic. Moreover, most of the endophytes were identified by using 16S rRNA sequencing method. Hence, this review elaborates on the differences and similarities between nonpathogenic and pathogenic endophytes in terms of host plant response, colonization strategy, and genome content. Furthermore, it is emphasized on the environmental effects and biotic interactions within plant microbiota that influence pathogenesis and the pathogenesis.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of over 9000 persistent hazardous chemicals used in industrial processes and consumer goods. They are ubiquitous in the environment and in people, who are exposed to PFAS via contaminated food and water, consumer products, and workplaces.1 Exposure to several PFAS has been linked to a plethora of health effects in both animal and human studies, even at background levels. They are so environmentally persistent that they have been termed “forever chemicals.” While in many ways PFAS contamination problems reflect broader issues with the chemicals regulatory system in the United States, a key feature of this industry is that only a handful of companies have produced the basic chemical building blocks for PFAS chemicals. These companies have known about the potential toxicity, human exposure, and extreme persistence of PFAS since the 1970s, yet have continued and expanded production.2 In the 2000s, in response to mounting pressure from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about risks to human and environmental health, PFAS manufacturers agreed to phase out U.S. production of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), and some related PFAS. Replacement PFAS, including new chemicals developed by industry, are widely used in more than 200 use categories,3 despite growing concerns about exposures, persistence, and toxicity.4 The PFAS industry claims that the chemicals’ use in consumer goods and industrial applications brings wide benefits, valuing the U.S. fluoropolymer segment at $2 billion a year.5 However, it fails to mention the costs of exposure, which are long-term, wide-ranging, routinely externalized onto the public, and disproportionately experienced. Focusing on a narrow, short-term view of PFAS benefits ignores how costs are displaced to communities and governments, despite existence of safer alternatives in most product sectors. This review of the true costs of PFAS highlights the need to act now to ensure that exposures are capped at current levels by reducing the production and use of PFAS. It calls attention to systematic failures of U.S. chemical regulation, including inadequate premarket review of new compounds, data gaps that prevent and delay the regulation of existing chemicals, and the widespread externalization of social costs of pollution onto the public.

Perceived intent is a pivotal factor in moral judgement: intentional moral violations are considered more morally wrong than accidental ones. However, a body of recent research argues that intent is less important for moral judgements of impure acts – that it, those acts that are condemned because they elicit disgust. But the literature supporting this claim is limited in multiple ways. We conducted a new test of the hypothesis that condemnation of purity violations operates independently from intent. In Study 1, participants judged the wrongness of moral violations that were either intentional or unintentional and were either harmful (e.g., stealing) or impure (e.g., public defecation). Results revealed a large effect of intent on moral wrongness ratings that did not vary across harmful and disgusting scenarios. In Study 2, a registered report, participants judged the wrongness of disgust-eliciting moral violations that were either mundane and dyadic (e.g., serving contaminated food) or abnormal and self-directed (e.g., consuming urine). Results revealed a large effect of intent on moral wrongness judgements that did not vary across mundane and abnormal scenarios. Findings challenge the claim that moral judgements about purity violations rely upon unique psychological mechanisms that are insensitive to information about the wrongdoer's mental state.

The human body harbors trillions of microbes collectively known as microbiota. The human gut microbiota is importantly involved in most of the human metabolic and regulatory pathways. The gut microbiota needs to be balanced for the health of the host. Several factors are involved in the distribution of microbiota in the human body, in most cases these microbiotas are commensals, but some circumstances lead to serious disorders and the development of infections from microbiota. When parasites colonize the gut, the balance between the host and the gut microbiota can be disturbed. Parasitic invasion in the gut is associated with unhygienic conditions including contaminated food and water. Parasitic invasion in the gut induces the immune response to recognize and eliminate pathogens. The current study highlights the immune system’s response to disruption of normal intestinal microbiota and parasitic infections.

Las Enfermedades Transmitidas por los Alimentos (ETAs) son provocadas por la ingestión de alimentos contaminados por microorganismos o sustancias químicas, y representan una importante carga de mortalidad y morbilidad dentro de los sistemas de Salud Pública de las naciones, impactando igualmente en el comercio internacional. Se clasifican en infecciones alimentarias e intoxicaciones alimentarias, y sus agentes causales pueden ser de tipo químicos, físicos o biológicos. En el mundo 1 de cada 10 personas se enferman por ingerir alimentos contaminados, causando un total de 420 mil muertes anuales, de las que 125 mil representan a niños. Más del 70% de los casos de ETA's se originan debido a una manipulación inadecuada, por ende, se recomienda utilizar las Buenas Prácticas Agrícolas y Buenas Practicas de Manufactura como medidas de prevención.

Campylobacteriosis has become common cause of diarrhea in humans and is associated with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Reactive Arthritis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome is caused mainly by contaminated food and water intake in which the majority occurs from manipulation, preparation and consumption of poultry meat. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Campylobacter in chicken carcasses from slaughterhouses located in the states of Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul in the South of Brazil. The samples were analyzed for Campylobacter enumeration using the ISO method 10272-2 and the species C. jejuni and C. coli, important for public health, were identified through Maldi-TOF mass spectrometry. From July 2017 to July 2018, 816 samples were analyzed, indicating the prevalence of 35.84%, with higher occurrence of C. jejuni (78.47%). No difference in prevalence was observed in relation to the size of the slaughterhouses. However, significant differences were noted among the three states in the southern region of the country, with the lowest prevalence being observed in Parana. The results reinforce the need to advance in the implementation of strategies to control this pathogen in the country, in order to safeguard consumer's health and contribute for the maintenance of Brazil's position in the international poultry meat market.

Introduction. Mycotoxins are reported to have a considerable impact on the health of consumers. There has been plentiful research into the effects of mycotoxins, fungi, and bacteria on the safety and quality of food and feed. This research paper reviews the literature on mycotoxins. Study objects and methods. The study focused on mycotoxins in food and feed produced in Saudi Arabia. We reviewed literature on the occurrence and health impacts of foodborne mycotoxins. We also studied the presence of mycotoxins in herbs, nuts, cereals, dried fruits and vegetables, infant formulas and baby foods, as well as dairy products. Finally, the paper offers a review of mycotoxin analysis methods. Results and discussion. The findings showed that mycotoxins attract a lot of scientific interest in Saudi Arabia. Certain types of mycotoxins (zearalenone, aflatoxins) and fungi (Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Aspergillus niger) were common in the samples (isolates) of products tested in the Saudi regions. Furthermore, the researchers used different techniques of analysis such as the HPLC method, dilution plate method, thin layer chromatography, total plate count method, and seed-plate method to detect, identify, and isolate mycotoxins. Conclusion. Most importantly, the results showed that mycotoxins have serious health impacts on consumers and most of the contamination cases are caused by improper storage conditions and/or inappropriate handling and harvesting practices.

In addition to properly balancing nutritional value in accordance with the needs of a dog, estimating the microbiological quality of dog food is crucial in providing healthy and safe foods. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of dry food for adult dogs, with particular reference to: (1) evaluating the nutritional value and compliance with nutritional guidelines for dogs, (2) comparing the nutritional value of dog foods, with particular emphasis on the division into cereal and cereal-free foods, and (3) evaluating their microbiological safety. All thirty-six evaluated dry dog foods met the minimum European Pet Food Industry FEDIAF requirement for total protein and fat content. The total aerobic microbial count in the analyzed dry dog foods ranged from 2.7 × 102 to above 3.0 × 107 cfu/g. In five (14%) dog foods the presence of staphylococci was detected; however, coagulase positive Staphylococcus (CPS) was not found. Mold presence was reported in one cereal-free dog food and in six cereal foods. In none of the analyzed foods Enterobacteriaceae were found, including coliforms, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Bacteria of the genus Listeria and Clostridium as well as yeasts were also not detected. In conclusion, the evaluated dry dog foods had varied microbiological quality. The detected number of microorganisms may have some implications for long-term consumption of contaminated food. The lack of European Commission standards regarding the permissible amounts of microorganisms in pet food may result in insufficient quality control of these products.

Foodborne disease is a disease caused by contaminated food. Chicken meat is very susceptible to contamination by bacteria. Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp, and Staphylococcus aureus are types of bacteria found in chicken meat. The purpose of this study was to see how many Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp, and Staphylococcus aureus colonies in raw chicken meat in traditional markets in Surabaya City. The research sample used was 30 samples of chicken meat taken in 5 traditional markets in Surabaya. Six chicken meat sellers were taken with 1 sample and put in the sterile tube from each market. The test was carried out using the Total Plate Count (TPC) method. The TPC test results showed that all samples were contaminated with E. coli, with the most colony being 2.2X10-7 CFU/g while the minor colony was 5X10-4 CFU/g. There are two samples contaminated with Salmonella sp, in the G market and the W market, with code D6 4.7X10-6 CFU/g and code E5 1X10-6 CFU/g. Meanwhile, S. aureus was only found in the W market with sample codes E1 & E6, and each sample had a colony of 2.7X 10-7 CFU/g and 2X10-5 CFU/g.

Exposure to toxins through contaminated food is a serious concern. For the detection of toxins in complex matrices, there are many analytical instrumentation-based methods; however, these approaches are generally expensive, laborious to perform, and require skilled technicians. Thus, they can only be utilized in centralized laboratories. To efficiently prevent the contamination by toxins and improve food safety, the use of on-site toxin detection methods enabling simple, rapid, sensitive, specific, reliable, and affordable identification of toxins is required. A colorimetric toxin detection strategy providing a naked-eye readout platform suits these requirements. Notably, the implementation of nanomaterials in the colorimetric strategy has proven to rapidly generate a higher capacity for detectable color responses owing to their unique physicochemical and catalytic properties. In this review, recent research on colorimetric toxin detection utilizing diverse nanostructures including noble metal nanoparticles and enzyme-like catalytic nanomaterials (nanozymes) is reviewed and discussed. Current challenges and future prospects for the utilization of nanomaterials in colorimetric toxin detection are also discussed.

The Guinea Worm Eradication Program has been extraordinarily successful—in 2019, there were 53 human cases reported, down from the estimated 3.5 million in 1986. Yet the occurrence of Guinea worm in dogs is a challenge to eradication efforts, and underlying questions about transmission dynamics remain. We used routine surveillance data to run negative binomial regressions predicting worm burden among infected dogs in Chad. Of 3,371 infected dogs reported during 2015–2018, 38.5% had multiple worms. A multivariable model showed that the number of dogs in the household was negatively associated with worm burden (adjusted incidence rate ratio [AIRR] = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93–0.97, P < 0.0001) after adjusting for dog age (AIRR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.96–1.01, P > 0.1). This could relate to the amount of infective inocula (e.g., contaminated food or water) shared by multiple dogs in a household. Other significant univariable associations with worm burden included dog history of Guinea worm infection (IRR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.18–1.45) and dog owners who were hunters (IRR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.62–0.99, P < 0.05) or farmers (IRR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.77–0.90, P < 0.0001). Further analysis showed that the number of dogs in the household was significantly and positively correlated with nearly all other independent variables (e.g., owner occupation: farmer, fisherman, or hunter; dog age, sex, and history of Guinea worm). The associations we identified between worm burden and dogs per household, and dogs per household and owner characteristics should be further investigated with more targeted studies.

Enteric campylobacteriosis caused by Campylobacter is a real public health problem. It is a typical zoonosis that can be transmitted through direct contact with contaminated animals or animal carcasses, or indirectly through the ingestion of contaminated food or water. WHO1 defines Campylobacter as the first germ responsible for gastroenteritis in developing countries. The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter in pigs and to identify the most common species found in three slaughterhouses in the city of Yaounde. A descriptive and prospective study was carried out over a period of five months, from July to November 2020. To do this, Campylobacter spp. strains were searched for by culture on specific media, incubated in a micro-aerophilic atmosphere at 37°C and the identification with API campy (BioMerieux, ref 20800). Out of the 266 samples collected, 170 from the rectum and 96 from the carcasses, we obtained a general prevalence of 27%, with a prevalence of 25.88% in the rectum and 29.16% in the carcasses. Pigs intended for consumption by the population of Yaounde come mainly from the North (50%) and the West (49%). The most common species encountered were C. coli (52.77%), C. jejuni spp. jejuni 1 and 2 (30.58%), C. festus spp. festus (11.11%), C. jejuni spp. doley (1.38%), and Campylobacter spp. (4.16%). Bacterial enumeration gave Campylobacter fecal concentrations at 103 CFU2 (52.7%), 104 CFU (33.3%), and 105 CFU (13.8%). The slaughterhouse in the Mvog Ada market was the most involved in Campybacter cases, followed by the 8th market and Essos market. From the above, it is important to notice that the Campylobacter danger remains and that preventive measures are of great interest.