Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Dec 9:7:892.
doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-7-892.

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and identification of new bacteria species in air samples from Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Emmanouil Angelakis, Muhammad Yasir, Esam I Azhar, Anastasia Papadioti, Fehmida Bibi, Asad S Aburizaiza, Sarah Metidji, Ziad A Memish, Ahmad M Ashshi, Ahmed M Hassan, Steve Harakeh, Philippe Gautret, Didier Raoult  1
Affiliations

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and identification of new bacteria species in air samples from Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Emmanouil Angelakis et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Background: During the Hajj season, respiratory symptoms are very common among pilgrims. Here, we investigated the viable bacterial population in air samples collected around the slaughterhouses used during the Hajj.

Methods and results: We collected air samples on three days from four different sites: slaughterhouses at Al-Kakia, Al-Meaisim and Al-Sharaia, and from a waste disposal area designated for the remnants of slaughter. Samples were cultured on blood agar plates for 48 h, and bacterial isolates were identified using MALDI-TOF MS. A dendrogram using the spectra of the unidentified bacterial species was constructed, and PCR amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was performed for one isolate per cluster. In total, 2500 colonies appeared on the nutrient agar plates, and 244 were purified for further analysis. Good identification was obtained for 202 (83%) isolates by MALDI-TOF MS. The most common genera were Bacillus (n=94, 45%) and Staphyloccocus (n=55, 26%). Poor identification was obtained for 42 (17%) isolates, and their spectra clustering revealed that these isolates belonged to 10 species. Four of these were considered to be new species.

Conclusions: During the Hajj, the air was contaminated by many environmental bacterial agents, and MALDI-TOF MS was successfully adapted for their rapid identification.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dendrogram of the spectra of the unidentified bacterial species by MALDI-TOF MS. Red color, isolates selected for 16S rRNA analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Areas in Makkah whereas air samples were collected. The map was from Wikipedia http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portail:Afrique.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Strategy used for the identification of isolates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ahmed QA, Arabi YM, Memish ZA. Health risks at the Hajj. Lancet. 2006;367(9515):1008–1015. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68429-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Benkouiten S, Charrel R, Belhouchat K, Drali T, Salez N, Nougairede A, Zandotti C, Memish ZA, Al MM, Gaillard C, Parola P, Brouqui P, Gautret P. Circulation of respiratory viruses among pilgrims during the 2012 Hajj pilgrimage. Clin Infect Dis. 2013;57(7):992–1000. doi: 10.1093/cid/cit446. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Madani TA, Ghabrah TM, Al-Hedaithy MA, Alhazmi MA, Alazraqi TA, Albarrak AM, Ishaq AH. Causes of hospitalization of pilgrims in the Hajj season of the Islamic year 1423 (2003) Ann Saudi Med. 2006;26(5):346–351. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Ghamdi SM, Akbar HO, Qari YA, Fathaldin OA, Al-Rashed RS. Pattern of admission to hospitals during muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) Saudi Med J. 2003;24(10):1073–1076. - PubMed
    1. El-Sheikh SM, El-Assouli SM, Mohammed KA, Albar M. Bacteria and viruses that cause respiratory tract infections during the pilgrimage (Haj) season in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Trop Med Int Health. 1998;3(3):205–209. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources