Prevalence and Characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus Associated with Meat and Meat Products in African Countries: A Review

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance has been increasing globally, which negatively affects food safety, veterinary, and human medicine. Ineffective antibiotics may cause treatment failure, which results in prolonged hospitalisation, increased mortality, and consequently, increased health care costs. Staphylococcus aureus causes a diverse range of infections including septicaemia and endocarditis. However, in food, it mainly causes food poisoning by the production of enterotoxins. With the discovery of methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains that have a separate reservoir in livestock animals, which were termed as livestock-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (LA-MRSA) in 2005, it became clear that animals may pose another health risk. Though LA-MRSA is mainly transferred by direct contact, food transmission cannot be excluded. While the current strains are not very pathogenic, mitigation is advisable, as they may acquire new virulence genes, becoming more pathogenic, and may transfer their resistance genes. Control of LA-MRSA poses significant problems, and only Norway has an active mitigation strategy. There is limited information about LA-MRSA, MRSA in general, and other S. aureus infections from African countries. In this review, we discuss the prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial susceptible and resistant S. aureus (with a focus on MRSA) from meat and meat products in African countries and compare it to the situation in the rest of the world.

Laboratory Diagnostic Methods and Antibiotic Resistance Patterns of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli Strains: An Evolving Human Health Challenge

“…Other studies showed that 29.4% of meat samples carried S. aureus . Additionally, other researchers have reported cross-contamination of meat samples through contact areas in butcher’s shops by S. aureus [ 29 ]. In a comparable study, E. coli strains have been found at 43.75% and 29.17% in minced meat and contact surfaces of butcher’s shops, respectively [ 28 ].…”

Review of pork and pork products as a source for transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

“…Methicillin-resistant S. aureus from food of animal origin has been widely reported in several studies in different countries [27]. For example, in the Netherlands, 267 MRSA isolates (11.9%) were found from 2217 samples of raw meat obtained from market traders: Turkey (35.3%), chicken (16.0%), veal (15.2%), pork (10.7%), beef (10.6%), and lamb and mutton (6.2%); most of these MRSA isolates were included in LA-MRSA CC398 [10]. A recent study conducted in Brazil found MRSA isolates in samples of pork (37.5%), fish meat (30%), chicken (23.3%), and beef (23.3%) [28].…”

“…One of the most widely identified types of LA-MRSA in pig farming is clonal complex 398 (CC398), which has been widespread in pig farms worldwide [5,6]. Then, LA-MRSA began to be identified in other livestock, including cattle [7], poultry [8], and meats, including beef, lamb, poultry, and pork [6,[9][10][11].…”

“…In addition, if pork and pork products are contaminated with MRSA, the MRSA strain can infect humans when humans consume them [14]. Several studies have demonstrated MRSA contamination in foodstuffs of animal origin, particularly pork and pork products, highlighting the potential risk of MRSA through food Available at www.onehealthjournal.org/Vol.8/No.2/8.pdf handling and consumption [10,[15][16][17][18][19]. This raises concerns about MRSA transmission, which has not received much attention between pigs and humans through the food production chain.…”

Emotive Themes from Tennessee Cattle Producers Regarding Responsible Antibiotic Use

“…All AMU practices (judicious and non-judicious) in animals for both therapeutic and non-therapeutic purposes may propagate the shedding of substantial amounts of AMR microorganisms [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Currently available evidence on the impact of AMU in food animals on AMR in human pathogens is debatable [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Despite the controversies around the impacts of AMU in animals on public health, judicious practices among producers are widely used by all sectors within the animal agriculture food production system to prolong the efficacy of current antimicrobial agents [ 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”