Detection and molecular characterization of selected pathogenic organisms isolated from unpasteurised milk

• Project start date: 1 February 2001
• Project status: Completed
• Discipline: Microbiology and food hygiene
• Author/s: Mr Jim Buckley, Cork County Council
• Collaborator/s: Prof Seamus Fanning, University College Dublin, Dr Michael Rowe, Queen’s University Belfast

Research objective

The objective of this project was twofold: first, to assess the prevalence of raw milk consumption among farm families in the Republic of Ireland, and second, to establish baseline data on the incidence of specific pathogens in unpasteurised milk. Given the health risks associated with consuming raw milk, including the potential presence of harmful microorganisms, the study aimed to highlight the extent of this practice among farm families.

Additionally, the project focused on determining the baseline values for the presence of key pathogens—Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC), and Salmonella species—in unpasteurised milk from commercial dairy herds in the Cork region of Ireland. By combining a survey of raw milk consumption with pathogen prevalence data, the project sought to provide critical information on the risks associated with raw milk consumption and inform strategies to improve public health and food safety.

Outputs

Research report

• Title: See peer reviewed articles below.
• Date: 26 November 2003

Other outputs

Peer reviewed articles

Reen, J., Boyd, E.F., Porwillik, S., Murphy, B.P., Gilroy, D., Fanning, S. and McClelland, M. (2005) Genomic comparisons of Salmonella enterica Serovar Dublin, Agona and Typhimurium strains recently isolated from milk filters and bovine samples from Ireland, using a Salmonella microarray. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 71: (3) 1616-1625.

Brenda P. Murphy, Mary Murphy, James F. Buckley, Deirdre Gilroy, Michael T. Rowe, David McCleery, and Séamus Fanning.  (2005) In-line milk filter analysis: Escherichia coli O157 surveillance of milk production holdings. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 208: 407-413.

Brenda P. Murphy, Rebecca O’Mahony, James F. Buckley, Priscilla Shine, E. Fidelma Boyd, Deirdre Gilroy, and Séamus Fanning (2007). Investigation of a large collection of non-typhoidal Salmonella of various serotypes cultured between 1953 and 2004 for the presence class 1 integron gene cassette.  FEMS Microbiol Lett. 266: 170-176. 

Brenda P. Murphy, James F. Buckley, Elizabeth M. O’Connor, Deirdre Gilroy, and Séamus Fanning (2008). Comparison of Salmonella species recovered from Irish liquid milk production holdings with temporal clinical veterinary isolates.  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 211: 283-291.

Brenda P. Murphy, Emer O’Mahony, James F. Buckley, Stephen O’Brien and Séamus Fanning (2009). Characterisation of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from dairy animals in Ireland, Zoonoses and Public Health (Published online Mar 2nd 2009 in advance of print).

Brenda P. Murphy, Emer O’Mahony, James F. Buckley and Séamus Fanning (2009). Characterisation of a small collection of Listeria monocytogenes isolated during surveillance of dairy production holdings supplying the farmhouse cheese sector in Ireland. Journal of Food Protection, (In Preparation).

Brenda P. Murphy, Emer O’Mahony, Noelle McCarthy, James F. Buckley and Séamus Fanning (2009). Campylobacter and Salmonella species: emerging pathogen surveillance of liquid dairy holdings supplying the farmhouse cheese sector in Ireland. International Journal of Food Microbiology, (In Preparation).