Laribacter hongkongensis is an emerging bacterial pathogen causing gastroenteritis and traveller’s diarrhoea. However, pathogenicity of L. hongkongensis has not yet been properly understood. We therefore, investigated putative pathogenicity markers like elt, est, stx1, stx2, eae, eaf, EAgg, bfpA, Int I, Int II, Int III and cnf respectively in strains received from Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong University. Above genes were commonly found among pathogenic member genera of Enterobacteriaceae-causing diarrhoea. Received strains were confirmed microbiologically and by 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing. Cultivability was examined using 23 different commercially available microbial growth media followed by antibiotic susceptibility test, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extraction and raising antisera in rabbit against heat-killed L. hongkongensis. Moreover, Escherichia coli classification genes chuA, yjaA, TspE4 and extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) genes like TEM, SHV, OXA, CTXM, CTXM1 and CTXM9 were also examined by PCR assay. Results showed the possession of eae, bfpA, Int and CTXM9 respectively for putative virulence. Furthermore, purity of extracted LPS was confirmed by HPLC, and raised serum was found useful in diagnosis of LPS; bacterium thus can be employed for immunodiagnostics. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Asit Ranjan Ghosh

Department of Integrative Biology

School of Bio Sciences and Technology

Vellore Campus

Raja K.M

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Foodborne diseases impose a high public health burden globally. The majority of bacterial infections lead to pandemics. Dominant pathogens produce one or more toxins targeting signal transduction of the host, which finally bring about pathophysiological changes and lead to disease(s). Some inhibit protein synthesis, some are neurotoxic, and some target different cellular functions. Evolution of all these toxin moieties enables pathogen(s) to emerge and target the host. Targets and modes of action are mostly known to develop prophylaxis; however, the corresponding defensive actions in a host are not yet well understood. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Foodborne Diseases

Foodborne Pathogen–Produced Toxins and Their Signal Transduction

Laribacter hongkongensis is relatively a new name in the list of bacterial pathogens for gastroenteritis and travelers' diarrhea. Addition of another name increases burden on the enteric infections as a whole. L. hongkongensis belongs to Neisseriaceae family of β subclass Proteobacteria. L. hongkongensis was initially isolated in Hong Kong from blood and empyema of an alcoholic cirrhotic patient in 2001, followed by reports from Korea and China, representing a total of 38 articles in PubMed until April 2013. As of now, there is no report from Indian subcontinent where infectious diarrhea is very much prevalent and a major burden. This review provides information about the microbiological characteristics, consideration of an emerging pathogen, relative pathogenicity, genome and proteome content, resistance toward multiple antibiotics, adaptability to different stress, and other features since its time of discovery. Investigation for this bacterium may avoid misidentification as other microbial flora. Further studies like the geographical distribution, type of infection, disease burden, pathogenicity, or genomic exploration of this bacterium will be useful in characterizing them properly. This bacterium may possibly be the emerging threat to public health. © 2014 Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.

Folia Microbiologica

Laribacter hongkongensis: an emerging pathogen of infectious diarrhea

Escherichia coli have public health impact on humans by causing gastroenteritis including hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. A total of 215 samples collected from fast foods, swabs from meat shops and fish markets were examined. Thirty-six samples (16.74%) were identified as E.coli with various serogroups like O8, O19, O22, O41, O60, O101, O116 and O147, respectively. Only nine (25%) E.coli possessed the gene encoding shiga toxin (stx 1). Isolated E.coli were multidrug-resistant with complete resistance to fluroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and lomefloxacin respectively). Isolation of stx 1 bearing E.coli with multidrug resistance from fast food and meat sources is a clear indication of environmental contamination and is a matter of public health concern. Practical Application: Detection of diarrheogenic serogroups of stx 1 harboring Escherichia coli with multidrug resistance in fast foods and meat shops is applicable in creating awareness among public about the unhygienic practices followed in the fast food centers and retail meat shops and also the improper disposal of fecal and antibiotic wastes, which is the cause for such contaminations. This study also insists the need of health education and hygienic practice for the food handlers. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Journal of Food Safety

Multidrug-Resistantstx1HarboringEscherichia colifrom Meat Shop and Fast Food

The human body is host to a number of microbes occurring in various forms of host-microbe associations, such as commensals, mutualists, pathogens and opportunistic symbionts. While this association with microbes in certain cases is beneficial to the host, in many other cases it seems to offer no evident benefit or motive. The emergence and re-emergence of newer varieties of infectious diseases with causative agents being strains that were once living in the human system makes it necessary to study the environment and the dynamics under which this host microbe relationship thrives. The present discussion examines this interaction while tracing the origins of this association, and attempts to hypothesize a possible framework of selective pressures that could have lead microbes to inhabit mammalian host systems. © the author(s), publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Ltd.

Journal	Data powered by TypesetApplied Biochemistry and Biotechnology
Publisher	Data powered by TypesetSpringer Science and Business Media LLC
ISSN	0273-2289
Open Access	0