Short Communication
English
Abdulbaset M. Abusetta
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Al-Fateh University for Medical Sciences, Tripoli, Libya
Libyan J Infect Dis. 2010;4(1):54-56
Abstract
Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate frequency of enterococcus spp. in samples of food sold in Tripoli, Libya.
Materials and Methods: From January 2008 to April 2008, a total of 174 food samples of packages of retail meat, cheese, poultry and pickles were purchased from separate grocery stores (in Tripoli City, Libya) and cultured on asculine azide kanamycin agar for the existence of enterococci.
Results: No enterococci were detected in pickles food samples. However, there was noticeable difference between the meat and cheese samples with respect to the dominance of enterococcus spp. Most of the enterococci were identified as E. faecalis (46.2%), E. faecium (36.5%), E. casseliflavus (9.7%) and E. avium (7.6%).
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that enterococci spp. was commonly found in tested food samples in Tripoli. This may be due to a contamination during manufacture or storage of certain kinds of these foods.
Keywords: Enterococcus spp., food contamination
Link/DOI: http://www.nidcc-jid.org.ly/pdf/v4no1/Frequency_of_Enterococcus_spp._isolated_from_samples_of_food_sold_in_Tripoli_city.pdf