5612
Fatma El-zahraa Ramadan Saleh Ibrahim
Development and application of a multiplex PCR method for detection of prevalent enteric protozoa in ýsome vegetables
Fresh vegetables, irrigation water, protozoa, multiplex PCR
Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba histolytica and microsporidia are the most common enteric protozoan acting as parasitic agents of waterborne diseases. They are considered to be responsible for human infections. Fresh vegetables are one of the most important vehicles of foodborne protozoan parasitic disease transmission. Vegetables are contaminated with the enteric protozoa from the beginning of the planting process to the consumption. A total of ý110 vegetable samples were collected from agriculture fields and 36 irrigation water samples (ground water and surface freshwaterý) from the same agriculture fields planted with vegetable samples in Nahia and Saft Al-laban areas, Giza Governorate, Egypt. Another ýgroup of 109 vegetable samples were collected from the public markets in Dokki District, Giza Governorate, Egypt. Each sample was separately examined by the research microscope for the presence of enteric protozoan parasite. A new multiplex PCR technique was developed for detection of the microscopically-positive examined samples. Microscopically, results showed that 7 (19.4%) out of 36 irrigation water samples were positive for Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba histolytica and microsporidia. Also, 39 (35.5%) out of 110 fresh vegetable samples collected from three different agriculture field areas were positive for the same intestinal protozoa, and 37 (33.9%) out of 109 vegetable samples from markets were positive for them. Molecularly, the sensitivity and specificity of the developed multiplex PCR were 96% and 100%, respectively. By applying the newly developed multiplex PCR technique on the microscopically-positive environmental samples, about 42.2% out of the 83 total microscopically-positive samples gave positive results with multiplex PCR.
2019
Ph.d
Ain Shams
Science