Vet World Vol.17 May-2024 Article - 26
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(5): 1168-1176
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.1168-1176
Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from some dairy products in Libya as a foodborne pathogen
2. Food and Drug Control Center, Tripoli, Libya.
3. Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya.
4. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medical Technology, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya.
Background and Aim: Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most common causes of clinical and asymptomatic mastitis in dairy cattle, as well as in milk and dairy products that affect milk quality. Mastitis caused by K. pneumoniae is even more serious due to its poor response to antibiotic therapy. The aim of this study was to detect and identify the presence of K. pneumoniae in milk and dairy products produced in Libya.
Materials and Methods: A total of 234 samples were randomly collected from various locations in Libya. Samples were examined for the presence of K. pneumoniae using conventional cultural techniques, including cultivation in violet red bile agar plus 4-methylumbelliferyl-ß-D-glucuronide broth and CHROM agar, followed by polymerase chain reaction identification and partial sequencing of 16S rRNA.
Results: Of the 234 samples of milk and dairy products collected, 16 (6.8%) isolates revealed mucoid colonies on agar media that were phenotypically suggested to be K. pneumoniae. Identification of isolates was confirmed using molecular techniques (16S rRNA). Among the examined samples, K. pneumoniae was recovered from camel’s milk, raw cow’s milk, raw fermented milk, Maasora cheese, Ricotta cheese, soft cheese, full cream milk powder, milk powder infant formula, cereal baby food, and growing-up formula. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed on 12 of the 16 K. pneumoniae isolates, and the results showed that K. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to more than eight antibiotics; interestingly, two isolates showed metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) production.
Conclusion: K. pneumoniae is considered a risk to human health because many of these products do not comply with the microbiological criteria of international and/or Libyan standards. This study emphasized the relationship between K. pneumoniae and raw milk, cheese, milk powder, and infant milk retailed in Libya. There is a need to take the necessary measures to ensure effective hygiene practices during production in dairy factories, handling, and distribution on the market, in particular at a small local production scale.
Keywords: antibiotic sensitivity, dairy products, foodborne, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Libya.
How to cite this article: Azwai SM, Lawila AF, Eshamah HL, Sherif JA, Farag SA, Naas HT, Garbaj AM, El Salabi AA, Gammoudi FT, and Eldaghayes IM (2024) Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from some dairy products in Libya as a foodborne pathogen, Veterinary World, 17(5): 1168–1176.
Received: 2024-03-04 Accepted: 2024-04-30 Published online: 2024-05-22
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.1168-1176
Copyright: Azwai, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
