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The prevalence and molecular typing of Clostridium perfringens in ground beef and sheep meats

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Abstract

This study was aimed at the investigation of the prevalence of Clostridium perfringens in ground beef and sheep meats and to detect the cpa, cpb, etx, iA, cpe and cpb2 toxin genes by multiplex PCR. Obtained from retail markets and butchers, 100 ground meat samples, 50 of which were beef and 50 of which were sheep meat samples, were examined. Out of the 50 ground beef samples 48 (96 %) and out of the 50 ground sheep meat samples 44 (88 %) were contaminated with C. perfringens. According to microscopic examination and the results of biochemical tests, 262 positive isolates obtained from these samples were identified as C. perfringens. Multiplex PCR results demonstrated that, out of the 262 isolates, 203 (77.4 %) possessed only the cpa gene (type A), while 20 (7.6 %) carried the cpa and cpb2 toxin genes (type A-cpb2), and 6 (2.2 %) the cpa and cpe toxin genes (type A-cpe). Furthermore, it was determined that, out of the 262 C. perfringens isolates, 4 (1.5 %), 10 (3.8 %) and 19 (7.2 %) were of the types B, C and D, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by the Dicle University Research Fund (DUBAP/10-VF-83). We thank Şenay Erçelik and Zülküf Emre Papatya for their excellent laboratory assistance.

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  1. Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dicle University, 21280, Diyarbakir, Turkey

    Husnu Sahan Guran, Aydın Vural & Mehmet Emin Erkan

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  1. Husnu Sahan Guran
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  2. Aydın Vural
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Correspondence to Husnu Sahan Guran.

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Guran, H.S., Vural, A. & Erkan, M.E. The prevalence and molecular typing of Clostridium perfringens in ground beef and sheep meats. J. Verbr. Lebensm. 9, 121–128 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00003-014-0866-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00003-014-0866-z

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