Behavior of Vibrio cholerae in hot foods

Abstract

Four food types held hot at 45 to 60°C were deliberately contaminated with 01 and non-Ol Vibrio cholerae strains. These organisms were assayed for survival and recovery from the foods within 1 h of the time the food was kept hot. The results showed no growth of V. cholerae non-Ol on thiosulfate-citrate bile-sucrose agar plates after 24 h of incubation at 37°C for food held hot at 50 to 60°C. Growth was low for V. cholerae 01 and was not achieved in some instances in which foods were held at either 55 or 60°C after 40 or 60 min of from the time the food was kept hot. Both organisms, however, were recovered equally from all food types held at all temperatures after 48 h of incubation. When incubated for an additional 24 h, the organisms grew to unusually small-sized colonies, measuring 0.1 to 0.3 mm in diameter, on the same agar plates that were negative for growth after an initial 24 h of incubation. It was concluded that V. cholerae survived the period of time held at hot temperatures. Although the organisms were not recovered from some foods when held at some of the temperatures and times after 24 h of incubation, they remained viable. An incubation period of 48 h at 37°C was found to be appropriate for the recovery of V. cholerae from hot foods.

The human pathogenic vibrios – A public health update with environmental perspectives

“…Thereis invariably evidence of improper cooking and handling when cooked foods, such as seafood or shellfish, are associated with food poisoning outbreaks due to pathogenic Vibrio species. Cooking foods to achieve internal temperatures above 60°C for several minutes appears satisfactory for eradication of pathogenic vibrios (Boutin, Bradshaw & Stroup, 1982;Shultz et al 1984;Saxena & Kulshrestha, 1985;Makukutu & Guthrie, 1986). Cold smoking of seafood is unlikely to be adequate to remove pathogenic vibrios (Karunasagar et al 1986).…”

Vibrio cholerae O1 em amostras de ambientes aquáticos e de alimentos analisados no Estado de Pernambuco, Brasil

“…Pelos resultados consignados para os alimentos (Tabela 1), depreende-se uma participação discreta desta via de transmissão, a qual não deve ser negligenciada, considerando a ocorrência em alimentos prontos (arroz e macarrão), provavelmente decorrente da participação de um manipulador assintomático ou do uso de água contaminada. É oportuno salientar as observações de Makukutu & Guthrie (1986), que, ao contaminarem arroz e macarrão prontos com vibrião colérico, verificaram que, após aquecimento por uma hora até 60 o C, ainda foi possível detectar bactérias viáveis.…”

Food as a Driver of a Cholera Epidemic in Jijiga, Ethiopia—June 2017

“…Cholera has been grown in the laboratory on cold rice and other foods, and experiments have shown that properly heating food inactivates V. cholerae. 7,8 Investigations of previous cholera outbreaks identified eating seafood, uncooked vegetables, and cold leftover rice as risks. [9][10][11] In Jijiga, an increase in cases coincided with Ramadan.…”