Epidemiological assessment of antibiotic residues in dairy farm milk and farm waste and water in northern India

Antibiotics are frequently used in the dairy sector for prophylactic uses along with therapeutic purposes. Throughout the globe, antibiotic resistance has turned out as one of the greatest public health issue with greater concern in developing countries, such as India. On the matrix wise comparison of the study, slurry samples in all three farming systems show the highest proportion of positive samples. Out of 153 slurry samples, 15.6% samples showed the presence of antibiotic residues. Eighteen milk samples (11.7%) showed the presence of residues following this trend. Only one sample (0.65%) was positive of animal drinking water in the study. None of the targeted residues were found in any sample of human drinking water. The four pond water samples showed the prevalence of residues of oxytetracycline (2 samples) and enrofloxacin (2 samples). Medium size farms (10-30 animals) comprised comparative higher levels than small (< 10) and large farms (> 30). The excretion mass modelling of antibiotics released in the environment indicated 8325.41 kg of oxytetracycline and 12,498.89 kg of enrofloxacin per year. The study helps in providing understanding in the relation between antibiotics usage and dissemination of their residues to the environment which may result in likely ecotoxicological consequences.

An innovative Australian point-of-care model for urine albumin: creatinine ratio testing that supports diabetes management in indigenous medical services and has international application

Background: Type 2 diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal failure in Australia's indigenous people. The measurement of urine albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR) as a marker for early renal disease is an important component of the management of indigenous patients with diabetes.

Methods: An innovative national program (Quality Assurance for Aboriginal Medical Services [QAAMS]) for point-of-care (POC) urine ACR testing on the DCA 2000 analyser (Bayer Diagnostics) was established to monitor microalbuminuria in indigenous people with diabetes in 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical services across Australia. Aboriginal health workers perform the ACR test. The QAAMS model provides ongoing education and training, an annual workshop, monthly quality assurance testing and a telephone help hotline. Quality assurance testing is conducted using paired, linearly related samples with a wide range of ACR concentrations (1-25 mg/mmol).

Results: The average participation rate across four six-monthly QAAMS ACR testing cycles was 83%. In all, 94% of 1163 quality assurance tests performed were within the preset limits of acceptability. The median precision (coefficient of variation percent for ACR quality assurance testing averaged 5.4%, well within desirable performance specifications. Between-site accuracy was excellent.

Conclusion: This unique POC model for supporting diabetes management is the first of its type to be developed for indigenous communities and has considerable potential to be adopted worldwide.

Computerised gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of complex mixtures of alkyl porphyrins

Computerised capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of complex mixtures of alkyl porphyrins, as their bis-(trimethylsiloxy)silicon(IV) and bis(tert.-butyldimethylsiloxy)silicon(IV) derivatives, is described. The latter derivative is more suitable for routine GC-MS analysis. This computerised GC-MS approach, when applied to the alkyl porphyrins of two geological samples, a bitumen (Gilsonite, Eocene age, UT, U.S.A.) and a crude oil (Boscan, Cretaceous age, West Venezuela), has revealed the highly complex compositions of these fractions. Computer-aided data processing, using relative retention index (RRI) calculations, facilitated the classification of the chromatographic peaks according to structural type and membership of pseudo-homologous series. Computerised GC-MS is compared with, and contrasted to high-performance liquid chromatography as a means of petroporphyrin analysis.

Bacteriological analysis of uncooked pork sausages in relation to public health

One hundred and eighteen samples of uncooked pork sausages were analysed bacteriologically. The total aerobic plate count ranged from 1.8 x 10(8) to 9.2 x 10(8) CFU/g in the samples. High mean counts of Staphylococci, Enterococci, Micrococci, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella and Coliforms were observed. Staphylococcus aureus were encountered with count range 2.8 x 10(6) CFU/g to 7.4 x 10(6) CFU/g. The viable count of Escherichia coli ranged from 2.0 x 10(5) to 4.3 x 10(5) CFU/g. Clostridium perfringens were detected in 66.9% of samples with a count ranging from 3.9 x 10(2) to 1.1 x 10(7) Cl. perfringens/g. None of 118 samples contained Yersinia enterocolitica.