Listeria monocytogenes, a deadly bacteria commonly found in the food processing industry, poses a significant threat to human health. Not only can it cause severe illness, it is also becoming resistant to food safety measures worldwide. Startingly, two previously thought to be harmless species of
are also responsible for disease in humans; and stress tolerance such as resistance to the disinfectant Benzalkonium chloride .
Dr. Thendo Mafuna from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Johannesburg . In this composite photo, Dr. Mafuna is in one of the UJ Biochemistry laboratories and facing genetic data forResearch from others has shown that though Listeriosis is rarely caused byBenzalkonium chloride is a member of a group of chemicals called Quaternary ammonium compounds, or QUATs. Quats are found in many common disinfectant products.
In total, 258 isolates from butcheries, abbatoirs, retail outlets, cold stores, and processing facilities all over the country were studied. Of these, 38 were found to be nonpathogenicThe isolates came from raw whole, raw processed, dried, and processed cooked, beef, chicken, and pork meats. Dr. Itumeleng Matle at the Bacteriology Division, ARC in Onderstepoort did the microbiological analysis ofThe Whole Genome Sequencing was done by Dr. Rian E.
Mafuna then compared the genome sequences with those recorded by the Pasteur Institute, in Paris, France; and performed the analysis for the study.“We need to look at our own facilities in South Africa to really see what is happening. Our analyses of these bacteria can help us predict which sequence types to be on the lookout for,” says Mafuna.
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