This study is the first report on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in small ruminants and their meat at slaughter level in Greece, elucidating a possible vehicle food for transmission to humans. These results suggest that human or animal sources could be involved in meat contamination and thus sources of contamination require investigation to control the dispersion of MRSA in the community.
This study investigated genetic relatedness among Staphylococcus aureus from livestock, their carcass’ surfaces after slaughter, personnel, and equipment of a Greek abattoir. Genotyping was performed using PFGE, MLST, spa, and SCCmec. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined according to EUCAST guidelines. Genes encoding staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) and Panton‐Valentine leukocidin (PVL) were detected by PCRs. From 392 samples, 46 S. aureus were recovered, 10 from workers, 6 from animals, 10 from carcass’, and 20 from equipment’s surfaces. Resistance to tetracycline was 80.4%, whereas, 58.7% of isolates were multi‐drug resistant. Eleven isolates (23.9%) were MRSA, 8 mecA‐ and 3 mecC‐positive. Fifteen PFGE and 13 spa types were identified, classified in 10 sequence types (STs). ST80 predominated among MSSA, and ST88‐IV clone among MRSA. Fifteen strains (32.6%) carried enterotoxin genes 7 of them possessed also the PVL genes. The abattoir seems to play important role in the transmission of S. aureus between animals and humans.
Practical applications
Antibiotic susceptibility, clonality, and toxin profiles among Staphylococcus aureus recovered from humans, animals, resulting carcasses and environmental surfaces of an abattoir were assessed. Our results showed spread of multi‐resistant toxigenic strains belonging to human and animals’ origin clones, indicating that the abattoir might be the reservoir for their transmission with potential negative impact on consumers’ health. The establishment and implementation of strict hygiene rules in the farms and during the slaughtering process in the abattoirs could control spread of virulent S. aureus strains.
In the present study, we investigated the isolation frequency, the genetic diversity, and the infectious characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) from the incoming meat and the meat products, the environment, and the workers’ nasal cavities, in two meat-processing establishments in northern Greece. The isolated S. aureus strains were examined for their resistance to antimicrobials, carriage of the mecA and mecC genes, carriage of genes encoding for the production of nine staphylococcal enterotoxins, carriage of the Panton–Valentine Leukocidin and Toxic Shock Syndrome genes, and the ability to form biofilm. The genetic diversity of the isolates was evaluated using Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and spa typing. S. aureus was isolated from 13.8% of the 160 samples examined, while only one sample (0.6%) was contaminated by MRSA carrying the mecA gene. The evaluation of the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates revealed low antimicrobial resistance. The higher resistance frequencies were observed for penicillin (68.2%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (36.4%) and tetracycline (18.2%), while 31.8% of the isolates were sensitive to all antimicrobials examined. Multidrug resistance was observed in two isolates. None of the isolates carried the mecC or lukF-PV genes, and two isolates (9.1%) harbored the tst gene. Eight isolates (36.4%) carried the seb gene, one carried the sed gene, two (9.1%) carried both the sed and sei genes, and one isolate (4.5%) carried the seb, sed and sei genes. Twenty-one (95.5%) of the isolates showed moderate biofilm production ability, while only one (4.5%) was characterized as a strong biofilm producer. Genotyping of the isolates by PFGE indicates that S. aureus from different meat-processing establishments represent separate genetic populations. Ten different spa types were identified, while no common spa type isolates were detected within the two plants. Overall, our findings emphasize the need for the strict application of good hygienic practices at the plant level to control the spread of S. aureus and MRSA to the community through the end products.
During last decades CoNS and especially the methicillin-resistant (MRCoNS) ones have become important pathogens and their infections are usually associated with healthcare settings. CoNS are considered as source of antimicrobial resistance traits for other bacteria and thus the evaluation of their prevalence in the community contributes significantly to the risk assessment in relation to public health. The aim of the present study was the investigationof the nasal carriage and antimicrobial susceptibly of CoNS among healthy veterinary students. From 81 healthy students of the School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, 24 strains were isolated from 22 (27.16%) students. Of them 54% were identified as Staphylococcus haemolyticus, 45.8% as Staphylococcus warneri, 16.6% as Staphylococcus epidermidis, 4.2% as Staphylococcus pasteuri and 4.2% as Staphylococcus capitis. All isolates were resistant to penicillin, 33.3% were resistant to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 29.2% to erythromycin, 4.2% to oxacillin, 4.2% to gentamycin and 4.2% to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The resistant to oxacillin isolate belonged to the S. epidermidis species and proved to carry the mecA gene. This study showed that the rate of nasal carriage of CoNS among veterinary students in Greece was low. The analysis of the standardised questionnaire, that was completed for each participating student during sampling, showed that pet owners tested positive for the coagulase-negative staphylococci were at a significantly lower rate (p-value=0.007) compared to non-pet owners. Moreover, among the participants who had visited a hospital over the last six months, the percentage of positive results in coagulase-negative staphylococci was significantly lower compared to that of the other participants (p-value=0.048). Although only one student found to carry methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis, its presence is evidence that this pathogen may circulate among veterinarians and the personnel of veterinary health establishments. Surveillance programs should also be performed in veterinary units because the emergence resistant bacteria in this environment may represent a risk to public health.
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