Antibiotic resistance in the pathogenic foodborne bacteria isolated from raw kebab and hamburger: phenotypic and genotypic study

Abstract

Background In recent years, interest in the consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) food products has been increased in many countries. However, RTE products particularly those prepared by meat may be potential vehicles of antibiotic-resistance foodborne pathogens. Considering kebab and hamburger are the most popular RTE meat products in Iran, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of common foodborne pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes) in raw kebab and hamburger samples collected from fast-food centers and restaurants. Therefore, total bacterial count (TBC), as well as the prevalence rates and antibiogram patterns of foodborne pathogens in the samples were investigated. Also, the presence of antibiotic-resistance genes (blaSHV, blaTEM,blaZ, and mecA) was studied in the isolates by PCR. Results The mean value of TBC in raw kebab and hamburger samples was 6.72 ± 0.68 log CFU/g and 6.64 ± 0.66 log CFU/g, respectively. E. coli had the highest prevalence rate among the investigated pathogenic bacteria in kebab (70%) and hamburger samples (48%). Salmonella spp., L. monocytogenes, and S. aureus were also recovered from 58, 50, and 36% of kebab samples, respectively. The contamination of hamburger samples was detected to S. aureus (22%), L. monocytogenes (22%), and Salmonella spp. (10%). In the antimicrobial susceptibility tests, all isolates exhibited high rates of antibiotic resistance, particularly against amoxicillin, penicillin, and cefalexin (79.66–100%). The blaTEM was the most common resistant gene in the isolates of E. coli (52.54%) and Salmonella spp. (44.11%). Fourteen isolates (23.72%) of E. coli and 10 isolates (29.41%) of Salmonella spp. were positive for blaSHV. Also, 16 isolates (55.17%) of S. aureus and 10 isolates (27.27%) of L. monocytogenes were positive for mecA gene. Conclusions The findings of this study showed that raw kebab and hamburger are potential carriers of antibiotic-resistance pathogenic bacteria, which can be a serious threat to public health.

Molecular Characterization and the Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of Salmonella spp. Isolated from Ready-to-Eat Foods in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

“…Among them, 15 (48.4%) gave positive amplicons for bla TEM , while 5 (20.8%) isolates exhibited the temB gene, and none of the temA genes were found. Similar to our findings, high rates of bla TEM (44.11%) were found by Rajaei et al [ 53 ] in Salmonella spp. isolates from raw kebab and hamburger in Iran and by Moawad et al [ 54 ] in Egypt (73.3%) in Salmonella spp.…”

Antimicrobial-Resistant Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods: Implications for Food Safety and Risk Assessment

“…The existence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in food may lead to difficulty treating foodborne infections in humans. Their presence in food can also facilitate the transfer of resistant genes to other microorganisms through the food chain [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. In our study, the phenotypic resistance observed against streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, cefotetan, oxytetracyclines vancomycin, and ceftriaxone was similar to previous reports on antibiotic resistance of L. monocytogenes from food tested against several antimicrobials [ 34 , 35 , 39 , 40 ].…”

Aureimonas altamirensis: First Isolation from a Chicken Slaughterhouse in Italy Followed by Genotype and Phenotype Evaluations

“…The slaughtering process represents a possible point of bacterial contamination; for this reason, methods of prevention, disinfection, and control must be followed to reduce the risk of meat contamination by pathogenic species [2,3]. The presence of antibiotic-resistant (AR) strains increases the level of risk related to their presence in meat [4,5]. This is linked to a risk to human health due to antibiotic ineffectiveness and possible transmission of genes related to antibiotic resistance between bacteria [6].…”