Microbiological water quality in the medical device industry in Italy

Review on people's trust on home use medical devices during Covid-19 pandemic in India

With the rapid development of the medical device against COVID-19 is an excellent achievement. There are numerous obstacles effectively facing the worldwide population, from manufacture to distribution, deployment and, acceptance. Many manufacturers have entered the market rivalry as people's knowledge and demand for home-use medical equipment has increased. India represents a compelling market opportunity for global medical device manufacturers. Substantial growth for the Indian medical device industry is expected to be driven by the current low per-person spending rate for medical devices. The growth of the medical devices industry in India raises competition law issues (anti-trust) and therefore maintaining public trust in home-use medical devices during COVID-19 will be as essential. The review article aims to create awareness among people about commonly used medical devices during the COVID-19 pandemic and to survey people’s trust in home usable medical devices in India. In a worldwide pandemic, manufacturers of medical devices face insufficient storage and the impossibility of meeting the requirements of the health centre. The sale of some of the most significant medical devices has increased, making it more difficult for the medical device industry to satisfy demand with high-quality goods since the quality of COVID-19 items plays a vital part in the present scenario. Despite the difficulty in providing enough medical equipment during a pandemic, they are striving to adapt to the circumstance. After recognizing the need to promote awareness and grasp the selling, and production, handling of medical instruments during COVID-19 at home was conducted. In addition, medical equipment manufacturers and distributors look at this scenario as an opportunity to profit more. This review article would enable researchers during COVID-19 to build more knowledge and widespread trust in medical technologies respectively.

Histopathologic Lesions in Bivalve Mollusks Found in Portugal: Etiology and Risk Factors

Bivalve mollusks are an important resource due to their socioeconomic value and to the historical and genetic value of some species. Two nationally important oyster species-Portuguese oyster (Crassostrea angulata) and Japanese oyster (Crassostrea gigas) from distinctive areas in Portugal were studied to evaluate their sanitary status. Oysters were sampled from four different sites in Portugal. Oysters collected from Japanese oyster populations were cultivated in a strong ocean-influenced environment and Portuguese oyster populations were cultivated in wild-beds. The histopathological examination of both oyster species revealed the presence of parasites in gills, mantle epithelium, digestive gland tubules and connective tissue, with a moderate prevalence. In both populations was observed hemocytosis in the connective tissue, edema and metaplasia in the digestive gland and tissues necrosis. In wild populations from Sado and Mira estuaries the prevalence of mud blisters and gill lesions were higher than from populations produced on 0.50 m tables from mudflats. Biosecurity measures and diagnostic techniques are fundamental to control pathogenic agents, including the identification of pathogens at an early stage in their life cycles. This will prevent diseases and improve pathogen reduction on transport of animals from different countries and regions to new production areas to avoid the transmission of diseases.

Electrogenic and hydrocarbonoclastic biofilm at the oil-water interface as microbial responses to oil spill

The oil-water interface formed during an oil spill represents a challenging environment for pelagic communities living in aquatic ecosystems. At this anoxic barrier, we report the formation of a microbial hydrocarbonoclastic biofilm capable of electron transfer along the water column. This biofilm generated a membrane of surface-active compounds that allowed the spontaneous separation of electrical charges, causing the establishment of an anodic and a cathodic region and, as a result, the spontaneous creation of a liquid microbial fuel cell. Such floating biofilm was connected to the water column underneath by floating filaments that could contribute to oxygen reduction at distance. The filaments revealed an unusual lipid content induced by anoxic conditions, with prominent ultrastructural features similar to myelin found in oligodendrocytes of the vertebrate nervous system. Furthermore, these filaments showed an interesting cross-reactivity towards different epitopes of the myelin basic protein (MBP) and Claudin 11 (O₄) of human oligodendrocytes. The presence of a network of filaments similar to myelin suggests the probable existence of evolutionary connections between very distant organisms. Collectively these results suggest a possible mechanism for how lake microbial communities can adapt to oil spills while offering an interesting starting point for technological developments of liquid microbial fuel cells related to the study of hydrocarbon-water interfaces. The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in figshare at https://figshare.com/s/72bc73ae14011dc7920d.

Rethinking Manure Application: Increase in Multidrug-Resistant Enterococcus spp. in Agricultural Soil Following Chicken Litter Application

The current study investigated the impact of chicken litter application on the abundance of multidrug-resistant Enterococcus spp. in agricultural soil. Soil samples were collected from five different strategic places on a sugarcane farm before and after manure application for four months. Chicken litter samples were also collected. Enterococci were enumerated using the Enterolert^®/Quanti-Tray 2000^® system and confirm and differentiated into species using real-time PCR. The antibiotic susceptibility profile of the isolates was determined using the disk diffusion method following the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) guidelines. The overall mean bacterial count was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in manure-amended soil (3.87 × 10⁷ MPN/g) than unamended soil (2.89 × 10⁷ MPN/g). Eight hundred and thirty-five enterococci (680 from soil and 155 from litter) were isolated, with E. casseliflavus being the most prevalent species (469; 56.2%) and E. gallinarum being the least (16; 1.2%). Approximately 56% of all the isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic tested, with the highest resistance observed against tetracycline (33%) and the lowest against chloramphenicol (0.1%); 17% of E. faecium were resistant to quinupristin-dalfopristin. Additionally, 27.9% (130/466) of the isolates were multidrug-resistant, with litter-amended soil harbouring more multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates (67.7%; 88/130) than unamended soil (10.0%; 13/130). All isolates were susceptible to tigecycline, linezolid and gentamicin. About 7% of the isolates had a multiple antimicrobial resistance index > 0.2, indicative of high antibiotic exposure. Although organic fertilizers are regarded as eco-friendly compared to chemical fertilizers for improving soil fertility, the application of untreated animal manure could promote the accumulation of antibiotics and their residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the soil, creating an environmental reservoir of antimicrobial resistance, with potential human and environmental health risks.

Enterococci used as complementary indicator of fecal contamination to assess water quality from public schools in the city of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract The study evaluated the drinking water quality from 45 public schools in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Water samples were harvested from two different points at each school: the first one, drinking fountain used by students (n=45) and the second, kitchen faucet (n=45), comprising 90 samples. The samples were submitted to analysis according to current legislation, such as: dosage of free chlorine; colony counts of heterotrophic bacteria; presence of total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli. In addition, an enterococci analysis was also included as a complementary microbiological indicator of fecal contamination. The isolated strains of enterococci were identified and submitted to an antibiotic susceptibility test. In relation to the legal parameters, 35.5% (n=16) of the 45 schools evaluated did not meet the quality water standards set by the Brazilian legislation. Although none of the 90 samples exhibited the presence Escherichia coli, 6.6% (n=6) of the analyzed samples presented enterococci contamination. Regarding the antibiotic susceptibility test, the isolated strains demonstrated a similar behavior, became resistant to six antibiotics and had intermediate sensitivity to one (Streptomycin) of the nine antibiotics tested. The drinking water destined for human consumption in the public schools may pose health risks for students since the fecal contamination by enterococci was confirmed, and it could be observed that the water may be a source of genes from bacteria resistant to antimicrobials. This study reinforces the importance of monitoring complementary microbiological indicators to assure water quality, seeing that fecal contamination was detected only when alternative parameters were inserted, emphasizing the relevance of including microbiological indicators beyond what the legislation requires to evaluate the drinking water more effectively and to safeguard public health.