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- Title
Presence of Cryptosporidium parvum in pre-washed vegetables from different supermarkets in South East England: A pilot study.
- Authors
Suleiman, Aisha Jamo; Mavrides, Daphne E.; Maxamhud, Sadiya; Gentekaki, Eleni; Tsaousis, Anastasios D.
- Abstract
Cryptosporidium is an important water-borne and food-borne parasite with a high burden of disease. This organism has been shown to contaminate various leafy vegetables; however, studies assessing the presence of Cryptosporidium spp in pre-washed and ready-to-eat vegetables are limited. Routine surveillance in the UK revealed a nationwide exceedance of human cases of Cryptosporidium. Therefore, this study aims to assess the presence of this parasite in pre-washed vegetables from supermarkets in the UK. A total of 36 samples were purchased from four different supermarkets. A nested PCR targeting the SSU rRNA was carried out on 24 samples, 58% were PCR-positive for Cryptosporidium. Sanger sequencing confirmed that, of these sequences, 4/24 (17%) produced significant similarities to Cryptosporidium parvum. This study provides evidence for the presence of C. parvum in pre-washed and ready-to-eat vegetables. Future work to identify the point of contamination is required.
- Subjects
UNITED Kingdom; CRYPTOSPORIDIUM parvum; SUPERMARKETS; PILOT projects; CRYPTOSPORIDIUM; EDIBLE greens; RIBOSOMAL RNA; VEGETABLES
- Publication
Parasitology Research, 2024, Vol 123, Issue 6, p1
- ISSN
0932-0113
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00436-024-08250-w