Rabbit meat as a potential source of multidrug-resistant and enterotoxigenic <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> strains

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus in rabbit meat is a consequence of insufficient hygienic handling and improper processing posing a major health hazard. This study was conducted to assess rabbit meat as a potential source of Staphylococcus species, particularly Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Furthermore, the identified S. aureus isolates were tested for the detection of the mecA virulence gene of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and enterotoxin encoding genes (Sea, Seb, Sec, and Sed). A total of 80 samples of different rabbit meat cuts represented by shoulder, ribs, loin, and thigh (20 of each) were collected from various markets of different sanitation levels. The results obtained revealed that the mean counts of Staphylococcus species were 7.40×105, 7.58×105, 7.60×105 and 8.29×105 CFU/g in the examined shoulder, ribs, loin and thigh samples, respectively. Out of 17 identified S. aureus isolates, 5 (29.4%) strains were characterized by the presence of the mecA gene. A large proportion of the isolates obtained were resistant to at least three antibiotics. Enterotoxins were evaluated by ELISA. The results showed that three strains isolated from shoulder produced Sea, Seb, and Sec enterotoxins, the strains isolated from ribs failed to produce enterotoxins, while two strains isolated from loin and thigh produced Sea enterotoxin. The presence of S. aureus, especially MRSA strains, in the examined rabbit meat indicates the necessity of enforced application of strict hygienic measurements.