SUMMARY This study was undertaken to survey the presence of Salmonella in 200 chicken samples collected from Mansoura, Egypt. Salmonella was detected in 16% (8/50), 28% (14/50), 32% (16/50) and 60% (30/50) of whole chicken carcasses, drumsticks, livers and gizzards, respectively, with an overall prevalence of 34% (68/200) among all samples. One hundred and sixty-six isolates were identified biochemically as Salmonella, and confirmed genetically by PCR, based on the presence of invA and stn genes. The spvC gene, however, was detected in only 25.3% (42/166) of the isolates. Isolates were serotyped as Salmonella Enteritidis (37.3%), S. Typhimurium (30.1%), S. Kentucky (10.8%), S. Muenster (8.4%), S. Virchow (4.8%), S. Anatum (4.8%), S. Haifa (1.2%), and four were non-typable. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests of the Salmonella isolates revealed that 100% were resistant to each of erythromycin, penicillin, and amoxicillin, while 98.8%, 96.4%, 95.2%, and 91.6% were resistant to nalidixic acid, sulphamethoxazole, oxytetracycline, and ampicillin, respectively. Multidrug resistance was evident for 92.8% of the isolates. The high contamination level of chicken meat with multidrug-resistant Salmonella can constitute a problem for public health.

The present work was undertaken to study the prevalence, molecular characterization, virulence factors, and antimicrobial susceptibility of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in raw milk and dairy products in Mansoura City, Egypt. MRSA was detected in 53% (106/200) among all milk and dairy products with prevalence rates of 75%, 65%, 40%, 50%, and 35% in raw milk, Damietta cheese, Kareish cheese, ice cream, and yogurt samples, respectively. The mean S. aureus counts were 3.49, 3.71, 2.93, 3.40, and 3.23 log10 colony-forming units (CFU)/g among tested raw milk, Damietta cheese, Kareish cheese, ice cream and yogurt, respectively, with an overall count of 3.41 log10 CFU/g. Interestingly, all recovered S. aureus isolates were genetically verified as MRSA strains by molecular detection of the mecA gene. Furthermore, genes encoding α-hemolysin (hla) and staphylococcal enterotoxins (sea, seb, sec) were detected in all isolates. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of recovered MRSA isolates against 13 tested antimicrobials revealed that the least effective drugs were penicillin G, cloxacillin, tetracycline, and amoxicillin with bacterial resistance percentages of 87.9%, 75.9%, 65.2%, and 55.6%, respectively. These findings suggested that milk and dairy products represent a potential infection risk threat of multidrug-resistant and toxigenic S. aureus in Egypt due to neglected hygienic practices during production, retail, or storage stages. These findings highlighted the crucial importance of applying more restrictive hygienic measures in dairy production in Egypt for food safety.

No abstract

The emergence of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in food-producing animals is of increasing interest, raising questions about the presence of MRSA in food of animal origin and potential sources of transmission to humans via the food chain. In this study, the prevalence, molecular characterization, virulence factors, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of MRSA isolates from 200 retail raw chicken samples in Egypt were determined. MRSA was detected by positive amplification of the mecA gene in 38% (76 of 200) of chicken samples analyzed. This represents a potential public health threat in Egypt, as this contamination rate seems to be the highest among other studies reported worldwide. Furthermore, genes encoding α-hemolysin (hla) and staphylococcal enterotoxins (sea, seb, and sec) were detected in all of the 288 MRSA isolates. Nonetheless, none of the strains tested carried tst, the gene encoding toxic shock syndrome toxin 1. Antimicrobial resistance of MRSA isolates was most frequently detected against penicillin (93.4%), ampicillin (88.9%), and cloxacillin (83.3%). These results suggest that retail chicken might be a significant potential source for transmission of multidrug-resistant and toxigenic S. aureus in Egypt. This underlines the need for stricter hygienic measures in chicken production in Egypt to minimize the risk of transmission of these strains to consumers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that reports the isolation and molecular characterization of MRSA in retail chicken samples in Egypt.

No abstract