Pathogenic yeast-like fungi in meat products

100 samples of sausage and ham (cut in fine slices) were examined to find out whether meat products can harbour yeast-like fungi pathogenic for man. Pieces of the test material were placed in a sterile Petri dish containing 1 ml distilled water and incubated at 26 degrees C for 2 days. The colonies grown on the material were identified by international standard methods, tested for extracellular proteolytic activity and serotypes. Experimentally infected meat products were studied culturally and histologically (PAS stain). 14 out of the 100 samples examined were found to contain Candida parapsilosis and 1 C. tropicalis. In vitro, extracellular proteolytic activity was found in 54.5% of the C. parapsilosis isolates. By serotyping, 2 of the isolates wree found to be related with serotype A and 8 with serotype B of C. albicans. The strains isolated from the blood of 27 patients, in part of them, identity of serotype and proteolysing activity was established. In the experimentally infected meat products, C. albicans showed a scarce growth preferably in the pseudomycelium form. C. tropicalis grew very well on the boiled sausage of salami type but mostly in the pseudomycelium form. C. parapsilosis on the other hand, showed a strong growth preferably as round blastospores on all 3 meat products and Cryptococcus neoformans a moderate growth as round blastospores in all the 3 meat products (Bologna type sausage, boiled sausage of salami type and smoke ham). The findings are discussed with a view of their implications for Medical Mycology, epidemiology and the practice of food control.