From several stores and butchers in Mansoura city, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt, 120 samples of sausage, beef burger, minced meat, luncheon, hot dog and canned meat were collected (20 each). The samples examined for detection of total mould count and identification if mould into genera and species in addition to quantification of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2. Mould detected in 100% of all examined raw meat products meanwhile, detected in 25%, 30% and 15% of examined luncheon, hotdog, and canned meat, respectively. Heat treated meat products significantly (P<0.05) contained lower mould count than raw meat products.  Eight mould genera detected in all examined meat products with varying percentages in descending order Aspergillus > Penicillium > Cladosporium > Sporotricum > Alternaria > Mucor > Fusarium > Curvularia . The mean values of aflatoxin B1 were 0.78±0.21, 1.1±0. 55, 1.54±0.40, 0.052±0.032, 2.21±0.87 and 1.88±0.41 µg/kg in sausage, beef burger, minced meat, luncheon, hot dog and canned meat, respectively. Minced meat significantly lower than other examined meat products in level of aflatoxin B1(P< 0.05). Aflatoxin B2 and G2 not detected in all examined samples. The aflatoxin G1 detected in two samples of beef burger with a mean value 1.15±0.065 µg/kg and in one sample of canned meat 0.62 µg/kg. A food safety management system as hazard analysis and critical control points should be adopted by meat producers in order to protect human health.

A frequent source of milk contamination is Bacillus cereus. The microorganism can contaminate raw milk at the time of milking since it is ubiquitous in the environment. In the current study, one hundred raw milk samples were obtained from farmers, supermarkets, street vendors and dairy shops in Egypt, collected samples were examined biochemically and by vietk 2 compact system to isolate Bacillus cereus. Prevalence values of B. cereus were 0, 20,8 and 12% respectively.  The Mean ± SE of the pH values for milk samples were 6.54 ± 0.04, 6.48 ± 0.06, 6.44 ± 0.05 and 6.53 ± 0.06 respectively, on the other hand sorch’s test for milk samples was positive in a percentage of 12, 8, 40 and, 16, respectively. Molecular characterization of hlbA and ces showed positive reaction for 30 and 20% of samples. Growth, proteolytic and lipolytic activities of Bacillus cereus was 100, 100, 20 and 40, 40, 20 at 30◦C/48 h and 7°C/10 days, respectively. Outcomes of the in vitro testing for susceptibility indicated that the highest resistance to antibiotics was against macrolides and mono, B-lactamase, whereas moderate resistance was exhibited to gentamicin. The current study's findings exhibited evidence of B. cereus isolation from raw milk has a high potential for producing food poisoning, so it is necessary to employ the techniques to lessen bacterial contamination while processing dairy products.

Fish is one of the most important foods because of its high nutritional value, high palatability, and easy digestion. At the same time, it acts as a vehicle for many types of pathogenic microorganisms especially Aeromonas species, which results in public health hazards. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of Aeromonas species in fresh fish (catfish, mullet, lizardfish, and coralfish) marketed in Zagazig city, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. In addition, multiplex PCR was performed to detect some virulence-associated genes in A. hydrophila isolates. Furthermore, antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out on A. hydrophila isolates using commonly used antimicrobials in Egypt through the disc diffusion method. The achieved results indicated contamination of fish with different species of Aeromonas such as A. veronii, A. sobria, A. caviae and A. hydrophila. The results revealed that Aeromonas species isolated with an overall percentage of 55% of all examined fish. Bacteriological examinations revealed 20% A. hydrophila, 20% A. sobria, 10% A. caviae and 5% A. veronii. Antibiotic sensitivity declared high resistance of the isolates to different antimicrobial agents used in Egypt, including penicillin (100%), Ampicillin (90.0%), Streptomycin (90.9%), Cephalothin (72.7%), Tetracycline (72.7%), Cefotaxime (63.6%), and Sulfamethoxazole (54.5%). Therefore, hygienic measures should be adopted to control microbial contamination either in the aquatic environment or in fish markets.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of two medicinal plants: Echinacea Purpura and Star anise for treating and prevention of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in chickens via assessment of their immune stimulating effect in IBV challenged chicks. 160 one day old Cobb® unsexed broiler chicks with average body weight 46.3 g. Chicks were classified into 8 equal groups (20 of each). The 1st group served as a control negative, the 2nd group served as a control positive (infected with IBV virus at day 21, non- treated), the 3rd group received Echinacea from the 7th till 21st day and infected with IBV virus at day 21, the 4th group received Star anise from the 7th till 21st day and infected with IBV virus at day 21, the 5th group received both Echinacea and Star anise from the 7th till 21st day and infected with IBV virus at day 21, the 6th group infected with IBV virus at day 21, then received Echinacea from the 21st till 42nd, the 7th group infected with IBV virus at day 21then received star anise from the 21st till 42nd, and the 8thgroup infected with IBV virus at day 21, then received both Echinacea and Star anise from the 21st till 42nd. Estimation of the collected samples (blood and sera) were made at different periods (7th, 14th, 28th and 35th days) to determine the effects of the used drugs on some hematological, and biochemical parameters. In addition, tissue specimens from liver and trachea were taken for histopathological examination. The obtained results evoked a significant increase in WBCs, heterophiles, lymphocytes, monocytes and esinophils counts in the groups treated with Echinacea and star anise compared with that of the control group. Serum ALT, AST, serum urea and creatinine results revealed a significant increase in groups treated with Echinacea and star anise compared with the control group, while GSH, SOD and NO revealed decrease in groups treated with Echinacea and star anise compared with the control group.  It could be concluded that the use of Echinacea and star anise as antivirals is positively beneficial in prevention and treatment of infectious bronchitis virus in poultry. Moreover, the use of the combination of both plants when used together have  more powerful effects in the prevention and treatment of IBV in poultry.

Pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli possess virulence factors that contribute to both intestinal and extraintestinal infections in both humans and animals. Farm animals can serve as a potential source for these types of E. coli strains. This study aimed to determine the virulence genes and related pathotypes of E. coli isolated from diarrheic farm animals and their public health importance. Rectal swabs were collected from 175 diarrheic farm animals (49 cattle, 69 sheep, and 57 goats). Samples were prepared for isolation of E. coli through enrichment in tryptic soya broth and then plating on Eosin methylene blue agar, whereas the identification of E. coli was performed based on colony morphology, biochemical tests, and molecular confirmation by PCR. Furthermore, the determination of the virulence factors associated with E. coli pathotypes was done by molecular technique to amplify the virulence genes including adhesins (sfa, papC, sepA, etrA, aer, feaG, fsaA, and eaeA), capsule synthesis (rfc), and toxins (cnf1, hlyA, eltA, estA, exhA, stx1, and stx2). Moreover, phylogenetic analysis was done via sequencing of the 16s rRNA genes from the strains that carry virulence genes, as well as the statistical analysis was done through the production of the hierarchically clustered heat map. Pathogenic E. coli was found in 39.4% of the examined animals. Fifteen out of sixteen virulence genes were detected among E. coli isolates from different farm animals, including cattle, sheep, and goats. ExPEC pathotype was predominated among cattle and sheep isolates whereas, ETEC pathotype is more frequent among goat isolates. The sequence analysis of 16s rRNA sequences revealed similarity between farm animal isolates and those from humans that were retrieved from GenBank. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential role of diarrheic farm animals in the epidemiology of pathogenic E. coli pathotypes which may have public health implications.

The objective of this work was to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis among camel obtained from El Shalateen area, Red Sea governorate.  Identification of   Brucella isolates, from naturally infected slaughtered camel, using bacteriological and molecular methods to identify the prevalent field strain in camels. This investigation was carried out on 470 camels during the period from July 2020 to June 2021 in El Shalateen area, Red Sea governorate, Egypt using Modified Rose Bengal plate test (mRBPT), Immunochromatographic Assay (ICA) and further confirmation by complement fixation test (CFT) for evaluation of the seroprevalence of camel brucellosis and characterization of Brucella microorganism on bacteriological and molecular basis. The results revealed that the seroprevalence was 10.9%, 8.9%, and 8.5% using mRBPT, ICA and CFT, respectively. The results revealed that there is a highly significant association between brucellosis diagnosed by mRBPT and CFT and the age of the camel. The highest percentage of seropositivity was recorded in older camels > 6y, (p-value < 0.0001). While brucellosis by ICA showed a significant relationship with age (P < 0.05). But there was a non-significant association between brucellosis diagnosed by mRBPT, ICA, and CFT and the sex of the camel, (P > 0.05). The results also revealed that the sensitivity was 100% for mRBPT and ICA While the specificity was 97.44% and 99.53% for mRBPT and ICA, respectively using CFT as the gold standard test. Brucella isolation was 6.7% isolated from costocervical and precrural lymph nodes, liver spleen, and testicles which were identified biochemically as Brucella melitensis biovar 3. DNA extraction and PCR amplification from isolates revealed 5 out of 5 isolates with a molecular size of 282 bp identified as Br. melitensis DNA. In conclusion, ICA can be used as a rapid screening and confirmatory test for the diagnosis of camel brucellosis. Besides, CFT is still a gold standard test because of its balance between sensitivity and specificity.

Although their nutritive value and popularity, milk and dairy products frequently serve as a vehicle for the various pathogens of both human and animal origins. A wide variety of artisanal dairy products are produced in rural areas and villages of Egypt and due to lack of strict hygienic measures and lack of thermal treatment, these products usually harbor a variety of spoilage and possibly food-poisoning microorganisms. The current study aimed to investigate the contamination incidence of raw milk, Kariesh cheese and artisanal Yoghurt (Zabady) by staphylococci, E. coli and Bacillus cereus. Overall, 75 samples of raw milk (100.00%) were contaminated by staphylococci, 54 samples of karish cheese (72.00 %) contained E. coli, meanwhile, 45 samples of Zabady (60.00 %) yielded Bacillus cereus. Additionally, 29 out of 34 E. coli strains recovered from examined samples, were successfully serotyped with correspondence to 9 different serogroups, meanwhile 43 strains from different samples were untypable by available antisera. 80 out of all 162 E. coli isolates (49.38 %) carried haemolytic activity feature, which reflect a great threat towards consumers. Furthermore, the phenotypic AR of S. aureus and E. coli isolates was checked against eleven selected antibiotics. A remarkable variation in phenotypic AR was noticed among strains. Our results denote the high incidence of health hazards in raw milk and its products and the existence of AR S. aureus and E. coli strains isolated from milk and dairy products in rural areas, which could cause human illnesses that are difficult to be treated.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a psychotropic pathogenic bacterium that is considered one of the most common spoilage microorganisms related to seafood’s consumption. P. aeruginosa is widely distributed in nature and isolated from soil, plants, animals, and water. Because of its high resistance to a wide range of antibiotics, P. aeruginosa is more dangerous than other spoilage bacteria. It possesses a diverse set of virulence factors capable of causing severe and aggressive infections in humans and animals. Antibiotic resistance genes are easily transmitted to humans via contaminated seafood, resulting in a serious antibiotic resistance.  The ability of P. aeruginosa to form a biofilm maintains its environmental survival and allows its quick adaptation to harsh environments. Therefore, for the benefit of customers and public health globally, the safety and bacteriological quality of commercially processed fish and its products are crucial.

Poultry meat and their meat products are considered as major sources of animal derived protein, essential amino acids, minerals, and vitamins. However, poultry meat might act as a vehicle for a vast array of xenobiotics such as heavy metals. The latter are specifically characterized by their bioaccumulation and biomagnification nature. Several toxic metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), and arsenic (As) have several toxicological implications if ingested. In Egypt, several avian species are consumed as meat sources including chicken, quails, ducks, and turkeys. In this review, we would like to throw the light on the current scenario of the contamination of the poultry meat with such toxic metals in Egypt and worldwide. Besides, the public health significance of such toxic metals was also discussed.

A urethral stricture disease (USD), which is a restriction of the urethra brought on by scarring, effectively blocks the lower urinary system. By impairing the patient's capacity to pee, harming the entire urinary tract, and interfering with kidney function, this blockage can drastically diminish the patient's quality of life. Because of this, it is essential that urethral strictures, which can affect both men and women, are swiftly diagnosed and appropriately treated. Urethral stricture disease can be caused by iatrogenic injuries, due to idiopathic reasons, traumatic origin or due to inflammation. In this review we would like to throw the light on USD etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management.