Antagonistic Activity of Bacillus Bacteria against Food-Borne Pathogens

Foodborne pathogens are among the most significant problems in maintaining the health of the population. In 2011 the CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases. The leading causes of foodborne illnesses in the United States are Salmonella and Shigella [1,2]. Staphylococcus aureus is among top five pathogens contributing to domestically acquired foodborne illnesses. Staphylococcal food poisoning is estimated to account for 241,148 foodborne illnesses per year in the United States, according to the CDC information (http://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2011-foodborneestimates.html). Foodborne illnesses are routinely treated with several classes of antibiotics. However, the use of these antibiotics has become problematic as over the years there have been numerous reports of cases of multi-antibiotic resistant food borne pathogens, worldwide [3-5]. In the United States, the proportion of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates from patients in intensive care units increased from 1992 to 2003 by 3% per year. Moreover, there is a great concern that the continued use of these drugs will result in the emergence of new resistant strains of these bacteria [6-9]. Colonization of the intestinal tract with MRSA may have important clinical implications, such as development of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, environmental dissemination, subsequent risk of infections and toxic shock syndrome [10-14]. Since foodborne infections have a dramatic impact on morbidity and mortality, particularly of infants and children, new approaches for cost effective and easy-to-deliver prophylaxis and treatment of these infections are highly desirable.