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Campylobacteriosis is among the most frequently reported foodborne zoonoses. A total of 848 samples were screened for Campylobacter spp. and occurrence was found to be 8.7%, 2.3% and 1.65% in broiler cecum samples, chicken meat samples and slaughter house environment swabs, respectively. High level of antimicrobial resistance was found against tetracycline (64.1%), doxycycline (54.4%), ampicillin (46.6%), nalidixic acid (42.7%), kanamycin (35.9%), and ciprofloxacin (33.33%). Resistance to co-amoxiclav (19.4%) and erythromycin (21.4%) was less common. The MAR index of the isolates was in the range of 0.11-0.78. Multi-drug resistance was observed in 54.4% of the isolates, with 53.2% C. jejuni and 55.3% C. coli isolates found resistant against three or more classes of antimicrobials. Presence of mutations in gyrA and 23S rRNA genes was investigated, which revealed that all the fluoroquinolone resistant isolates possessed Thr-86-Ile point mutation, whereas only 68% of erythromycin resistant isolates had A2075G mutation. The tetO gene was present in 91.7% tetracycline resistant isolates and blaOXA-61 gene was detected in 97.9% of the ampicillin resistant isolates. The occurrence of antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter spp. in broiler chicken samples and slaughter house settings is a public health risk and calls for judicial use of antimicrobials.

Campylobacteriosis is among the most frequently reported foodborne zoonoses. A total of 848 samples were screened for

Street foods are one of the important sources of foodborne infections and Staphylococcus aureus is an important infectious agent transmitted through various sources including street foods. The methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are of public health significance, hence the study was taken to assess the street foods as a source of MRSA, for which 430 street vended foods of animal origin (meat, milk, eggs and their products) and associated environmental samples were processed for isolation and characterization. A total of 52 (12.1%) S. aureus were isolated and resistant was observed to oxacillin (36.5%), cefoxitin (25%) and penicillin G (82.7%) by disc diffusion test. On genotypic screening, mecA and blaZ have detected in 17.3% and 69.2% isolates, respectively. The virulence typing identified nuc, coa, clfA, spA, FnbA and enterotoxin A (sea) genes in 100%, 96.2%, 30.8%, 55.8, 50% and 7.7% isolates, respectively. Genetic diversity among the isolates was observed by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR with a D value of 0.77. The presence of virulent MRSA in street vended foods trigger the public health concern and emphasis to educate the consumers and street food vendors about quality and safety of such foods.

Arcobacter has emerged as an important food-borne zoonotic pathogen, causing sometimes serious infections in humans and animals. Newer species of Arcobacter are being incessantly emerging (presently 25 species have been identified) with novel information on the evolutionary mechanisms and genetic diversity among different Arcobacter species. These have been reported from chickens, domestic animals (cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, dogs), reptiles (lizards, snakes and chelonians), meat (poultry, pork, goat, lamb, beef, rabbit), vegetables and from humans in different countries. Arcobacters are implicated as causative agents of diarrhea, mastitis and abortion in animals, while causing bacteremia, endocarditis, peritonitis, gastroenteritis and diarrhea in humans. Three species including A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus and A. skirrowii are predominantly associated with clinical conditions. Arcobacters are primarily transmitted through contaminated food and water sources. Identification of Arcobacter by biochemical tests is difficult and isolation remains the gold standard method. Current diagnostic advances have provided various molecular methods for efficient detection and differentiation of the Arcobacters at genus and species level. To overcome the emerging antibiotic resistance problem there is an essential need to explore the potential of novel and alternative therapies. Strengthening of the diagnostic aspects is also suggested as in most cases Arcobacters goes unnoticed and hence the exact epidemiological status remains uncertain. This review updates the current knowledge and many aspects of this important food-borne pathogen, namely etiology, evolution and emergence, genetic diversity, epidemiology, the disease in animals and humans, public health concerns, and advances in its diagnosis, prevention and control.

Street foods are one of the important sources of foodborne infections and Staphylococcus aureus is an important infectious agent transmitted through various sources including street foods. The methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are of public health significance, hence the study was taken to assess the street foods as a source of MRSA, for which 430 street vended foods of animal origin (meat, milk, eggs and their products) and associated environmental samples were processed for isolation and characterization. A total of 52 (12.1%) S. aureus were isolated and resistant was observed to oxacillin (36.5%), cefoxitin (25%) and penicillin G (82.7%) by disc diffusion test. On genotypic screening, mecA and blaZ have detected in 17.3% and 69.2% isolates, respectively. The virulence typing identified nuc, coa, clfA, spA, FnbA and enterotoxin A (sea) genes in 100%, 96.2%, 30.8%, 55.8, 50% and 7.7% isolates, respectively. Genetic diversity among the isolates was observed by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR with a D value of 0.77. The presence of virulent MRSA in street vended foods trigger the public health concern and emphasis to educate the consumers and street food vendors about quality and safety of such foods.

Arcobacters are important zoonotic pathogens and are transmitted through food and water. They are implicated in causing enteritis in animals and humans. Among the Arcobacter species, a wide genetic diversity has been documented, which reflects continuous evolving nature of these pathogens.To genotype and to know the genetic diversity of Arcobacter spp. (Arcobacter butzleri and Arcobacter cryaerophilus) isolated from different sources in India.Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) was performed using genomic DNA of 49 Arcobacter isolates (27 A. butzleri and 22 A. cryaerophilus), recovered from a total of 506 samples of chicken meat, poultry skin, dairy cow milk and human stool as template and employing published primers.ERIC sequence was found to be present in all the 27 A. butzleri isolates which were grouped into 18 subtypes, while it was present in 20 out of 22 A. cryaerophilus isolates which were grouped into 14 subtypes. Less variation was observed within sequences of both the Arcobacter species as revealed in dendrogram analysis. The genotyping of A. butzleri isolates showed the presence of 2-8 distinct bands (∼150 to ∼1600 bp), while A. cryaerophilus showed 1-10 distinct bands (∼120 to ∼2900 bp).This study is the first report regarding genetic diversity of Indian Arcobacter isolates using ERIC-PCR. Close clustering between arcobacters of human and animal origin are indicative of probable zoonotic significance. So for these purposes, further explorative studies are suggested which would also help revealing the possibility of epidemiological relationships of different Arcobacter spp. as well as their public health concerns.

The reports of prevalence of Arcobacter butzleri in mutton, chevon and cara beef are very rare in India. The foods of animal origin included in the present study are mutton, chevon and cara beef in addition to chicken meat and milk. A total of 154 samples viz. 23 for mutton, 20 for chevon and 10 for carabeef were collected from retail meat shops, Bareilly, U.P, India; 70 samples of chicken meat were collected from CARI, IVRI, Bareilly India and 30 milk samples were collected from various milk suppliers, vendors and dairy farms, Bareilly, India. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based screening was employed in this study to determine the prevalence of Arcobacter butzleri in the collected samples. PCR assays used in the present study were standardized as per the protocol of Houf et al. (2000). The optimised PCR assay gave an amplification product of 401 bp size in 18 samples out of 154 and it was specific only for Arcobacter butzleri and not for other related bacterial DNA's tested like that of Arcobacter cryaerophilus, Arcobacter skirrow, C. jejuni, C. coli, Salmonella Typhimurium and E. coli. While 12 of chicken meat, 03 mutton, 01 chevon, 01 carabeef, 01 milk samples were positive by PCR giving the respective prevalence of 17.14%, 13.04%, 5%, 10% and 3.22%. The overall prevalence of Arcobacter butzleri in the screened samples was found to be 11.69%.