Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains Isolated from Food Products and Food Handlers in Egypt

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the prevalence and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance pattern of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from food products and food handlers at different retail outlets and superstores in Alexandria city, Egypt. A total of 100 food products including raw milk, Damietta cheese, beef burger, sausage, and chicken pane (20 of each) as well as 100 hand swabs were randomly collected from 100 food handlers and screened for the presence of MRSA using MRSA selective agar medium. MRSA isolate was confirmed from each nuc /mecA PCR-positive sample. The overall prevalence rate of MRSA in food products and food handlers was 12% and 5%, respectively. Concerning the food products samples, the highest rate of isolation was recorded in the examined samples of beef burger (20%), followed by sausage (15%) then raw milk and chicken pane (10%) and finally Damietta cheese (5%). The antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the 12 MRSA isolates from food products samples clarified that all (100%) MRSA isolates showed resistance to Cefoxitin and Penicillin G. On the contrary, 100% of the isolates were sensitive to Ceftaroline and Linezolid. Regarding food handlers, prevalence rate was 5.3% in males and 4.2% in females. The phenotypic antimicrobial resistance pattern of the 5 MRSA isolates from food handlers revealed that all (100%) MRSA isolates exhibited resistance to Cefoxitin and Penicillin G. Conversely, 100% of the isolates were sensitive to Ceftaroline and Linezolid. The results of the current study suggest that raw food products may have been contaminated with MDR MRSA strains which could be a potential public health risk. Moreover, these findings unequivocally show the need for enhanced hygiene standards to minimize the risk of occupational and food-borne illness associated with handling and/or consuming raw animal food products harboring MRSA.

Molecular Detection of Enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in Ready-to-eat Cowhide (‘Ponmo’) Collected from Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

“…The PCR confirmed isolates were subjected to susceptibility testing using 8 antibiotics. This was performed by the Kirby-Bauer agar disk diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton according to [25]. The pure colonies were suspended in sterile normal saline, adjusted to 0.5 MacFarland standard before making a lawn on Mueller Hinton agar (Oxoid CM0337B) using sterile swab stick.…”

“…However, bacteria other than coagulase positive S. aureus were found in 20 (33.50%), while 15 samples (24.83%) of the samples did not exhibit bacterial growth (Table 2). Staphylococci are one of the most prevalent bacterial contaminants according to USFDA [2004] [25] reported that S. aureus is ubiquitous in nature and inhabits the mucous membranes and skin of most warm-blooded animals, including food animals and humans.…”