Effect of essential oil supplementation to diet on meat quality, fatty acid composition, performance parameters and intestinal microbiota of Japanese quails.

The effect of essential oil (EO) supplementation on carcass characteristics of Japanese quails and interactions between ingredients and intestinal morphology were investigated in this study. A total of 250 quails were fed different diet: D1, basal diet (BD); D2, BD plus palmarosa oil (PO; 100 µg/kg diet); D3, BD plus lemon myrtle oil (LMO; 100 µg/kg diet); D4, BD plus α-Tops (mixture of α-terpineol, cineole and terpinene-4-ol; 100 µg/kg diet); and D5, BD plus cyclodextrin. Overall growth performance was determined at multiple time points during 35 days of experiment. Carcass characteristics (fatty acid, pH and colour), intestinal morphology and the expression levels of meat quality-related genes including the insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), myogenin and avian uncoupling protein (avUCP) were examined at the end of the trial. Additionally, intestinal microbiome of quails was studied by next-generation sequencing-based culture-independent analysis. Although the inclusion of EOs into the diet had no effect on the growth performance of quails and the microbial profile, the significant changes in pH24 and colour (a*) of the quail's breast muscle (p < .05) in the group receiving PO were observed. Additionally, oleic acid content in the breast muscle was significantly higher in the EOs supplemented groups (p < .01). Quails fed the PO supplemented diet had higher villus and relatively rich in oleic acid. The expression levels of IGF-1 and myogenin genes in quail's muscle were not affected, but the expression of avUCP gene was significantly lower in quails fed with LMO and α-Tops (p < .05). The results demonstrated variable effects of these treatments on intestinal morphology. Taken together, dietary inclusion of EOs is found to be beneficial and hence can be recommended for improving the quality of poultry meat.

Could Frequent Carbapenem Use Be a Risk Factor for Colistin Resistance?

AIMS: The antibiotic colistin, which had been previously abandoned, is being brought back as a last line of defense against bacterial infection. However, colistin resistance was reported shortly after its reintroduction. This study evaluated the risk factors for colonization/infections due to colistin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (ColR-Ab) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ColR-Kp) strains and characterized the molecular epidemiology of these two strains. RESULTS: Age, previous hospitalization duration, and previous use of carbapenem and colistin were risk factors for ColR-Kp, whereas previous use of carbapenem and colistin was a risk factor for ColR-Ab. According to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis, most ColR-Kp strains could be grouped into two major pulsotypes. This appears to be an indicator of cross contamination of ColR-Kp strain, since different isolates appeared to be belonging to the same clones. The existence of colistin-susceptible (ColS) and colistin-resistant (ColR) strains in the same pulsotypes might also be an indicator of the recent emergence of resistance mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the emergence of ColR pathogens in Turkey, which is considered to be developing country, and that carbapenem use coupled with insufficient infection control measures might increase the risk of ColR outbreaks.

Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase producing Escherichia coli in hospital wastewaters and sewage treatment plants in Queensland, Australia.

We investigated the prevalence of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli in untreated hospital wastewaters and 2 sewage treatment plants (STPs). A collection of 252 ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from hospital wastewater and STPs were typed and tested for resistance to 17 antimicrobial agents and for the presence of integron-associated integrases (intI gene) and ESBL genes. Eighty-nine percent (n = 176) of the ESBL-producing E. coli strains from hospital wastewater were found in more than 1 sample (common types), with 1 common type accounting for 35% of isolates, found in all samples. These strains were also resistant to up to 9 non-ß-lactam antibiotics and showed the same pattern of resistance in all samples. More than 73% of the hospital wastewater isolates possessed SHV-type ESBL as opposed to isolates from STPs that carried only CTX-M-type ESBL genes. The prevalence of the intI gene did not differ between the sources of the isolates. Certain ESBL-producing E. coli were dominant in hospital wastewaters. These strains possessed ß-lactamase genes that were different from isolates found in STPs. From a public health point of view, the presence of such a high level of ESBL-producing E. coli strains in hospital wastewaters is of great importance.