Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance Pattern, and Frequency of Enterotoxin Coding Genes in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Isolated from Some Ready-to-Eat Foods

Subject Areas : Food Microbial Contamination

Manouchehr Momeni shahraki ¹ , S. Siavash Saei-Dehkordi ² , Zahra Hemati ³

1 - Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
2 - Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord 34141, Iran
3 - Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

Received: 2023-06-26 Accepted : 2023-07-04 Published : 2023-09-23

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, Enterotoxin, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Ready-to-eat foods,

Abstract :

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a significant pathogen to induce food poisoning in humans. This bacterium possesses the ability to produce heat-resistant enterotoxins. This investigation examined the prevalence, antibiotic resistance patterns, and frequency of enterotoxin coding genes in MRSAisolates obtained from ready-to-eat foods. One hundred and twenty-five samples of ready-to-eat food were collected and transported to the laboratory on ice. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated using microbial culture, and MRSAisolates were confirmed using cefoxitin and oxacillin discs. The antibiotic resistance patterns and frequency of enterotoxin coding genes were determined through disc diffusion and PCR methods, respectively. The prevalence of MRSAwas 68.42%, 66.66%, 62.5%, and 28.57% in pounded kebab, grilled chicken, hamburger, and sausage samples, respectively. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains exhibited the highest resistance to penicillin (100%), doxycycline (80.64%), tetracycline (77.41%), and erythromycin (70.96%). The isolates exhibited the lowest resistance against vancomycin and rifampin (22.58%). The prevalence of enterotoxin genes, SEA and SEG, was reported as 58.06% and 61.29%, respectively. The simultaneous presence of multiple enterotoxin coding genes and resistance to various antibiotics in MRSAstrains isolated from ready-to-eat food samples highlights a significant health concern within this food category. Preventing the indiscriminate use of antibiotics can mitigate the risk of methicillin-resistant enterotoxin-producing Staphylococcus aureus in ready-to-eat foods.