Abstract
The risks of contracting staphylococci food poisoning by the consumption of improperly manufactured salami and the possibility of this food being reservoirs for antibiotic resistance were evaluated. Nineteen coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) strains were found in commercial and artisanal salami. The species in commercial salami were S. saprophyticus, S. sciuri, S. xylosus, and S. carnosus. Artisanal salami showed S. succinus, S. epidermidis, and S. hominis but no S. carnosus. Phylogenetic analyses grouped the strains into three major staphylococcal species groups, comprised of 4 refined clusters with similarities superior to 90%. Fifteen strains harbored multiple enterotoxin genes, with high incidence of seb/sec and sea, 57% and 50%, respectively, intermediate incidence of sed/seh/selm and sei/seln/tst-H, 33% and 27%, correspondingly, and low incidence of see/selj/selo and seg, of respectively 13% and 1%. Real time RT-PCR and enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assays confirmed the enterotoxigenicity of the strains, which expressed and produced enterotoxins in vitro. The CNS strains showed multiresistance to several antimicrobials of therapeutic importance in both human and veterinarian medicine, such as β-lactams, vancomycin, and linezolid. The effective control of undue staphylococci in fermented meat products should be adopted to prevent or limit the risk of food poisoning and the spread of antimicrobial-resistant strains.
Highlights
Staphylococcal food poisoning is an illness caused by the ingestion of contaminated food containing enterotoxins produced by bacteria belonging to this genus
Sixty-five presumable coagulase-negative staphylococci microorganisms from salami were isolated by colony morphology, coagulase slide test, subsequent tube test, and biochemical tests
Nineteen distinct strains were identified as coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) in salami with 08 of 19 (42%) identified as S. saprophyticus, the predominant species, followed by 05 strains of S. xylosus (26%), 02 strains of S. carnosus (11%), and 01 strain of each of the following species: S. succinus, S. sciuri, S. epidermidis, and S. hominis (5% each) (Table 2)
Summary
Staphylococcal food poisoning is an illness caused by the ingestion of contaminated food containing enterotoxins produced by bacteria belonging to this genus. Staphylococcus classified as coagulase-positive are considered potential food enterotoxin-producing strains [1], recently, the enterotoxigenic potential of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) species in food poisoning has been recognized [2]. Newly described types of SEs—SEG, SEH, SEI, SElJ, SElK, SElL, SElM, SElN, SElO, SElP, SElQ, SElR, and SElU—with amino acid sequences similar to the classical SEs, were discovered. These newly described enterotoxins are designated as SE or SElike (SEl), according to their emetic properties displayed in a primate model following oral administration [5]
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