Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Auras (MRSA) from poultry meat products regarding mecA Gene, antibiotic Sensitivity, and biofilm Formation

Abstract

The uprising problem of the Presence of Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) pathogenic bacteria is an emerging obstacle facing food safety. This study purposed to evaluate the antibiotic-resistant profile regarding the Presence of MRSA and biofilm production. About 225 samples were collected (60 imported frozen chicken meat, 30 chicken fillet, 30 chicken nuggets, 30 chicken shawarma, 15 chicken luncheon, and 60 chicken stock cubes) were examined bacteriologically for staphylococcus aureus using mannitol salt agar and blood agar, The occurrence of staphylococci was 127/225 (56.4%). 16.8% of the samples were S.aureus (38/225), while, 39.5% (89/225) were coagulase-negative staphylococci. S. aureus recovered from 8.3% of frozen chicken meat, 13.3% of chicken fillet, 23.3% of chicken nuggets, 46.6% of chicken shawarma, 33.3% of chicken luncheon, and 5% of chicken stock cubes. Resistance against 13 antibiotics was determined using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test, 100%, 78.9%, and 52.6% of the isolates were resistant to penicillin G, tetracycline, and amoxicillin. Clavulanic acid respectively, while 26.3% were resistant to methicillin. On the other hand, the isolates showed high sensitivity to vancomycin, clindamycin, and chloramphenicol with percentages 97.3%, 81.5%, and 68.4% respectively. The resistant strains to methicillin were tested by PCR for the presence of mecA gene, the result was 100% (10/10) positive for mecA gene. The isolates were phenotypically tested for the ability of biofilm formation using the Tube method that divided S. aureus isolates into 4 grades: strong biofilm former, moderate biofilm former, weak biofilm former, and non-biofilm former with percentages18.4%, 15.7%, 13.1%, and 52.6% respectively. To conclude, the increased prevalence of S.aureus in chicken meat products pinpoints the unhygienic condition of food processing, moreover, the occurrence of MDR S. aureus in chicken meat products might lead to alarming public health threats so there is an alerting need for rational use of antibiotics.