Human health risks associated with antimicrobial-resistant enterococci and Staphylococcus aureus on poultry meat

Abstract

Enterococci and staphylococci are frequent contaminants on poultry meat. Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium and Staphylococcus aureus are also well-known aetiological agents of a wide variety of infections resulting in major healthcare costs. This review provides an overview of the human health risks associated with the occurrence of these opportunistic human pathogens on poultry meat with particular focus on the risk of food-borne transmission of antimicrobial resistance. In the absence of conclusive evidence of transmission, this risk was inferred using data from scientific articles and national reports on prevalence, bacterial load, antimicrobial resistance and clonal distribution of these three species on poultry meat. The risks associated with ingestion of antimicrobial-resistant enterococci of poultry origin comprise horizontal transfer of resistance genes and transmission of multidrug-resistant E. faecalis lineages such as sequence type ST16. Enterococcus faecium lineages occurring in poultry meat products are distantly related to those causing hospital-acquired infections but may act as donors of quinupristin/dalfopristin resistance and other resistance determinants of clinical interest to the human gut microbiota. Ingestion of poultry meat contaminated with S. aureus may lead to food poisoning. However, antimicrobial resistance in the toxin-producing strains does not have clinical implications because food poisoning is not managed by antimicrobial therapy. Recently methicillin-resistant S. aureus of livestock origin has been reported on poultry meat. In theory handling or ingestion of contaminated meat is a potential risk factor for colonization by methicillin-resistant S. aureus. However, this risk is presently regarded as negligible by public health authorities.

Phylogenomics of Enterococcus faecalis from wild birds: new insights into host‐associated differences in core and accessory genomes of the species

“…ST16 was widely distributed in humans and farm animals, especially poultry. Its single variant ST179, which was particularly prevalent among humans (Bortolaia et al ., ), had a similar core but showed disparate accessory genomes. Accessory genomes of the ST179 isolates were similar to those of ST64, one of the oldest and more abundant E. faecalis lineages in the human gastrointestinal tract (Moles et al ., ).…”

“…Much less host/habitat specificity was observed for other STs detected in wild birds and other hosts. ST16 is considered a 'zoonotic' E. faecalis lineage, due to the frequent recovery of similar ST16 strains from humans and farm animals (Bortolaia et al, 2016). It is often detected in strains causing farm outbreaks, contaminating commercial poultry meat and colonizing swine slots, in addition to the faecal isolates from wild birds (Freitas et al, 2009).…”

“…ST16 was widely distributed in humans and farm animals, especially poultry. Its single variant ST179, which was particularly prevalent among humans (Bortolaia et al, 2016), had a similar core but showed disparate accessory genomes. .…”

Prevalence of the Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Coagulase-Positive-and Negative-Staphylococcus in Chicken Meat Retailed to Consumers

“…Epidemiologically, poultry meat is of paramount importance and still inculpated as prime source of human food poisoning (Kadariya et al, 2014). Although specific data on the burden of foodborne disease associated with Staphylococcus in poultry meat has been previously limited (Capita et al, 2002; Pesavento et al, 2007; Persoons et al, 2009), yet it has gained importance in the last couple of years (Bhargava et al, 2011; Hanson et al, 2011; Boost et al, 2013; He et al, 2013; Martins et al, 2013; Momtaz et al, 2013; Yurdakul et al, 2013; Islam et al, 2014; Khallaf et al, 2014; Xin et al, 2014; Abdalrahman et al, 2015; Owuna et al, 2015; Pinto et al, 2015; Bortolaia et al, 2016; Teramoto et al, 2016), it is considered to be significant to be a disturbing issue in the poultry industry due to its impact on public health and a challenge to the medical and veterinary officials worldwide (APUA, 2010a; Ruban and Fairoze, 2011). …”

Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Healthy Turkeys and Broilers Using DNA Microarrays

“…Although detection and genotyping of S. aureus was common in diseased poultry (Richter et al, 2012; Argudín et al, 2013; Monecke et al, 2013; Kraushaar et al, 2016) and from poultry meat (Boost et al, 2013; Buyukcangaz et al, 2013; Krupa et al, 2014; Abdalrahman et al, 2015; Kim et al, 2015; Sallam et al, 2015; Bortolaia et al, 2016; Kraushaar et al, 2016; Raji et al, 2016), characterization data of S. aureus isolates from healthy turkeys and broilers are still widely lacking.…”