Multidrug Resistant Coagulase-Positive <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and Their Enterotoxins Detection in Traditional Cheeses Marketed in Banat Region, Romania

oleh: Adriana Morar, Alexandra Ban-Cucerzan, Viorel Herman, Emil Tîrziu, Khalid Ibrahim Sallam, Samir Mohammed Abd-Elghany, Kálmán Imre

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-11-01

Deskripsi

The main objectives of the present study were to determine the occurrence of coagulase positive staphylococci (CPS) and to assess the presence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> isolates in different raw milk origin (cow and sheep) traditional cheeses marketed in Banat region, Romania. Additionally, the presence of <i>mecA</i> gene in <i>S. aureus</i> isolates and the staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) in cheese samples were evaluated. A total of 81.6% (138/169) of the screened samples were positive for CPS. Furthermore, 35.5% (49/138) of the investigated CPS positive cheese samples were contaminated with <i>S. aureus</i>, with an isolation frequency of 46.6% (14/30) in caș, 33.3% (32/96) in telemea, 25% (2/8) in burduf, and 25% (1/4) in urdă assortments, respectively. From the total number of <i>S. aureus</i> isolates, 6.1% (3/49) harbored the <i>mecA</i> gene. Detectable levels of SEs were identified in 4.3% (4/94) of cheese samples with a CPS contamination level higher than 10<sup>5</sup> log CFU g<sup>−1</sup>. The expressed antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the tested cheese-origin <i>S. aureus</i> isolates, with the automated Vitek 2 equipment, showed resistance towards amikacin (90.1%, 10 out from 11 tested), enrofloxacin (86.2%, 25/29), ceftiofur (72.7%, 8/11), neomycin (63.6%, 7/11), benzylpenicillin (53.1%, 26/49), kanamycin (41.4%, 12/29), rifampicin (39.5%, 15/38), tetracycline (38.8%, 19/49), tilmicosin (36.4%, 4/11), clindamycin (30.6%, 15/49), ciprofloxacin (30%, 6/20), erythromycin (22.4%, 11/49), tylosin (18.2%, 2/11), oxacillin (16.3%, 8/49), linezolid (15%, 3/20), teicoplanin (15%, 3/20), fusidic acid (13.1%), imipenem (10.5%, 4/38), vancomycin (7.9%, 3/38), ampicillin (5.5%, 1/18), mupirocin (5.5%, 1/18), fosfomycin (5%, 1/20), and gentamicin (4.1%, 2/49). Twenty-four (49%) <i>S. aureus</i> isolates exhibited multidrug resistance. The investigation highlighted a common occurrence of multidrug-resistant <i>S. aureus</i> strains in the monitored cheese assortments, which can constitute a potential risk for consumers’ health.