title: Prevalence and Characterization of Cronobacter sakazakii in Retail Milk-Based Infant and Baby Foods in Shaanxi, China.
abstract: Cronobacter sakazakii (formerly Enterobacter sakazakii) is an opportunistic pathogen that causes meningitis, sepsis, and necrotizing enterocolitis in neonates and infants through consumption of contaminated milk-based foods. In this study, the prevalence of C. sakazakii in 705 retail milk-based infant and baby food samples was investigated in 12 cities in Shaanxi, China, in 2010 and 2012. One hundred and nineteen samples (16.9%) were C. sakazakii positive. The isolates were further characterized for antimicrobial susceptibility to 14 antibiotics, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles, and presence of the virulence genes. Samples of brand W, Y, A, and G in 2010 and 2012 were C. sakazakii positive. All isolates recovered in 2010 and 2012 were susceptible to levofloxacin and cefoperazone. In 2012, no isolate was resistant to gentamicin, cefoxitin, chloramphenicol, gatifloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and ceftriaxone. Antibiotic resistance of the isolates was most commonly found to rifampicin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, streptomycin, tetracycline, and ampicillin in both 2010 and 2012, except to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole in 2012. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles indicated that C. sakazakii isolates were genotypically diverse, although these isolates were prevalent in infant and baby foods with the same brand. A total of 34 virulence gene profiles of the C. sakazakii isolates in 2010 and 2012 were detected. Isolates that co-carried hly-ompX-eitCBAD-iucABCD/iutA genes in 2012 were significantly (p < 0.05) more prevalent than those in 2010. The results added new epidemiological evidence for the widespread occurrence of C. sakazakii in retail milk-based infant and baby foods and this should be an indicator of potential health risk for consumers.
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Wupeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Keting
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: 2 Hanzhong Products Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute , Hanzhong, China .
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: 3 National Institutes for Food and Drug Control , Beijing, China .
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: 4 Shanghai Jiaotong University , Shanghai, China .
authors.forename: Limin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Qianning
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Meili
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1 College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University , Yangling, China .
authors.forename: Baowei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002681:China; D044083:Cronobacter sakazakii / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005513:Food Inspection; D057141:Food, Preserved / Q000191:economics / Q000382:microbiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food / Q000191:economics / Q000382:microbiology*; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000191:economics / Q000382:microbiology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D041941:Milk Substitutes / Q000191:economics; D058889:Molecular Typing; D010802:Phylogeny; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors