Detection of Clostridium perfringens in Uncooked Meat and Butchers' Tools in Basra: A Public Health Concern
2025
Alaa Al-haideri
This study was conducted to examine uncooked meat samples collected from slaughtered animals from butchers' markets in Basra Governorate. During the period from June to August 2024, 75 samples were studied, including 50 samples of sheep meat and 25 samples of butchers' tools. Using sterile swaps, equivalent areas (2.5 CM) of meat surface or butchers' tools were rubbed evenly, and then the swaps were inoculated into a thioglycolate medium containing tubes. The cultures were transported to the lab and cultivated under anaerobic conditions for 48 hrs. at 37C using an anaerobic jar and gas bags. The presence of Clostridium perfringens bacteria was detected by microbial culture on CHROMagar and microscopic examination in addition to species-specific polymerase chain reaction using the 16S rRNA gene. The results showed that C. perfringens was present in 15 total samples among the 75 samples studied (10 isolates from meat and 5 isolates from butchers' tools). Furthermore, PCR detected the cpa gene in all C. perfringens-positive samples, confirming that these isolates belong to type A of Clostridium perfringens. The results of this study indicate that the source of such contamination originates from poor sanitation of slaughterhouses and/or due to the disease of slaughtered animals. These findings necessitate imposing strict sanitation measures and public health awareness to limit C. perfringens meat contamination.
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