Enterococci, common hospital-acquired infections in immunocompromised patients, have garnered attention in clinical microbiology. To determine the clinical relevance of enterococci as food-borne pathogens, 116 fish, 90 vegetables, and 120 human diarrheal samples were tested for E. faecalis and E. faecium pathogenicity. Conventionally, 69 of 326 (21.17%) samples were positive for Enterococcus species, 52 (15.95%) of which were molecularly classified as E. faecalis and 13 (3.99%) as E. faecium. The E. faecalis contamination percentage of fresh fish (19.70%) was higher than frozen fish (4%). Cauliflower had the highest E. faecalis percentage (16.67%) when fish and vegetable samples didn’t harbor the E. faecium atpA gene. 23.33% and 10.83% of participants’ samples were molecularly confirmed as E. faecalis and E. faecium positive, respectively. E. faecalis isolates had all virulence genes, with gels being the most common (65.38%), while cylA and asa1 genes couldn’t be detected in E. faecium isolates. E. faecalis showed the highest resistance against vancomycin and tetracycline (69.23%), whereas E. faecium extremely resisted tetracycline (76.92%) and erythromycin (69.23%) with the recognition of MDR among 44.2% of E. faecalis and 38.5% of E. faecium isolates. The great similarity of our isolates showed the clinical importance of food-borne antibiotic-resistant enterococci.

Background: Dogs are the most popular pet animals worldwide, and their frequent and close contact with humans poses an increased risk of zoonotic parasite transmission. Toxocara canis infection is a highly pervasive and economically significant zoonotic infection transmitted by dogs worldwide, commonly in tropical and subtropical regions, particularly in developing countries.Objectives: This study evaluates the epidemiological profile and associated risk factors of T. canis exposure among humans and T. canis infection in domestic dogs in two climatically different governorates in Egypt.Methods: Faecal samples from 360 domiciled dogs were examined using the flotation technique to detect T. canis eggs. In addition, 276 human serum samples were evaluated by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay over a period of 10 months from May 2021 to February 2022 in the Alexandria and Qena Governorates, Egypt.Results: Shedding of T. canis was identified in 33.33% (120/360) of dogs and the overall seroprevalence in the human population was 20.65% (57/276). Lower Egypt, represented by the Alexandria Governorate, had higher canine infection (39.47%) and human seropositivity (29.87%) rates than those of Upper Egypt, represented by Qena Governorate (26.47% and 9.02% in dogs and humans, respectively). Statistical analysis of the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants revealed that handwashing, washing of vegetables and fruits and sex were associated with human T. canis exposure.Conclusion: The prevalence rates of confirmed T. canis infection in the Egyptian dogs population and the associated human seropositivity rates reflect its importance as a public health concern and support the call to increase public awareness of this issue. The risk factors identified in this study can contribute to the development of more effective control and prevention strategies.

Background and Aim: In Egypt, there is a scarcity of recent data on trichinellosis in pigs and humans. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the epidemiological profile and risk factors associated with Trichinella spiralis infection as well as to assess the effectiveness of the trichinoscope and digestion technique in diagnosing trichinellosis. Materials and Methods: Data were collected on 33812 pigs slaughtered during a year at the Al-Basateen abattoir, Cairo Governorate, Egypt. The slaughtered pigs had already been examined by trichinoscope in the abattoir. The diagnostic effectiveness technique was randomly conducted on 170 pork muscle samples, which were examined using the digestion technique. Furthermore, 90 serum samples from high-risk individuals in Qena and Sohag Governorates, Upper Egypt, were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The investigation revealed that the overall prevalence was 1.06% in pigs by trichinoscope. Of the examined 170 samples, 2.35% and 3.35% were found to harbor Trichinella by trichinoscope and artificial digestion, respectively. Trichinella was identified as T. spiralis using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. A significant relationship was affirmed between the prevalence of trichinellosis and the sex and age of the examined pigs. Likewise, for the first time, there was a considerable seasonal trend in the prevalence of Trichinella with the maximum infection, which was observed during Autumn (1.18%). The prevalence of trichinellosis in humans was 10%, with a significant association with age. Conclusion: Our findings are intended to serve as a starting point for developing effective preventive and control measures for trichinellosis (as application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) in pig farms, stop feeding pigs on garbage as well as, preventing illegal slaughter of pigs outside the slaughterhouses). It also fortifies the establishment of the digestion technique because of its high specificity and sensitivity, although it is difficult to apply to a large number of samples.

Background: Helicobacter pylori is a worldwide pathogen that affects both animals and humans with a wide environmental distribution, causing serious health problems in humans. This research has timely addressed the topic of new sources of H. pylori infection, which is currently a global issue, especially in developing countries. For this purpose, 115 Tilapia fish, 50 freshwater samples, and 88 fish-handlers’ stool samples were investigated for the presence of H. pylori in Qena Governorate, Egypt. The applied techniques were antigen screening tests, culturing, and molecular methods through ureC gene amplification, and 16 S rRNA characterization. Results: Helicobacter pylori was detected in 7.83%, 14%, 4.35%, and 12% of the investigated fish and water samples by culture and PCR methods, respectively. Out of the total studied participants, 40 tested positive for H. pylori when screened by stool antigen test, of which 35 (39.77%), and 31 (35.23%) were confirmed by conventional and molecular techniques, respectively. The Fisher’s exact test has shown a statistically significant correlation between H. pylori infection, sex, and age as risk factors, while the association was insignificant concerning the residence. Males contracted the infection at a higher rate than females (48.08% and 16.67%, respectively). Also, H. pylori infection rate was the highest among fish-handlers aged 36–45 years old (46.67%), followed by the 26–35 years old age group (39.53%). With regard to the residence, a higher occurrence rate was recorded in the rural (36.07%) than the urban population (33.33%). Helicobacter pylori isolates harbored the highest antimicrobial resistance against ampicillin (100%), metronidazole (95.24%), while the least antimicrobial resistance was recorded against levofloxacin (21.43%), and clarithromycin (26.20%). The phylogenetic analysis revealed a high degree of homology between the isolates selected from Tilapia fish, freshwater, and fish-handlers. Conclusions: Our data emphasized the role that fish and freshwater play in disseminating H. pylori infection as one of the diseases that has a significant public health issue.

Listeriosis is a severe infection caused by consuming food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the primary cause of human listeriosis. This study aimed to identify L. monocytogenes phenotypically and genotypically using inlA and hlyA virulence genes, followed by DNA sequence analysis and antimicrobial sensitivity in food resources and human samples. 345 Samples were obtained randomly from different markets and supermarkets in Qena, Egypt, including 115 fish, 25 fish containers, 90 vegetables, 90 diarrheal samples, and 25 hand swabs from patients and fishermen, respectively. L. monocytogenes was confirmed in 11.30% (39/345) and 3.48% (12/345) of the examined samples using culture and conventional PCR methods, respectively. The frequencies of L. monocytogenes in fish, fish containers, vegetables, and humans were 8.70, 3.48; 20, 8; 18.89, 1.11 and 6.09, 4.35% by both methods, respectively, with a statistically significant difference. Although L. monocytogenes predominated in 5-17 and 31-43-year age groups, the age risk factor for patients was statistically insignificant from an epidemiological perspective. Higher incidences were found in females and urban areas 7.27 and 4.76% than in males and rural areas 0 and 3.70%, without a statistically significant difference. The inlA was identified in all isolates, but the hlyA was identified in 41.67%. The highest multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index 0.625 was found in a diarrheal swab; all collected isolates were completely resistant to ampicillin. Additionally, 25% of L. monocytogenes stains were multidrug-resistant. According to phylogenetic analysis, the local isolates obtained from samples of tilapia, catfish, fish containers, cauliflower, and humans shared plenty of similarities.

| Salmonellosis is a major public health concern with food economic losses worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the mutual role that may be played by chicken-ready meals and food handlers in the transmission of different Salmonella serotypes to hospitalized patients in Assiut Governorate, Egypt, as well as, to assess their pathogenic potential and antimicrobial resistance. Out of 150 chicken meals collected randomly from various restaurants and food shops including, shish-tawook, pane, and shawerma (50 for each), 10% were contaminated with Salmonella with the acquisition of shish-tawook (14%). On the other hand, 100 hand swabs that were assembled from food handlers working in the same places yielded 13 Salmonella isolates, at the time 4 isolates were only obtained from 50 hospitalized patients with diarrhea. From the public health point of view, S. typhimuriu m , S. enteritidis, and S. kentucky were serotyped from both food and human samples. Epidemiologically, insignificant sex risk factor was statistically found in this study although Salmonella was more common in males (14.67%) than in females (8%) among food handlers and the opposite among hospitalized patients (4.76% and 10.34% in males and females, respectively). Salmonella infection was dominant in 20 < 35 and 35 < 50 age groups among food handlers and patients, respectively. Complete resistance of the obtained isolates was showed to erythromycin, streptomycin, and nalidixic acid with the highest MAR index (0.640) appeared in clinical isolates from patients compared to food (0.517) and food handlers (0.471). All detected Salmonella serotypes harbored invA gene through which a phylogenetic analysis was conducted for six isolates showing a high degree of similarity between them and those imported from Genbank. hilA, spvC, stn, and qacED1 genes were detected in 75, 16.67, 66.67, and 50% of Salmonella serotypes, respectively. These findings signify the role played by chicken-ready meals, as well as their handling, in the high rate of multidrug-resistant Salmonella isolates and the risks it poses to public health.