Prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> in Raw Hamburgers and Ready-to-Eat Sandwiches Commercialized in Supermarkets and Fast Food Outlets in Brazil

Abstract

Although well known, Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that remains widely studied because of its high pathogenic potential and its ability to develop resistance to antibiotics routinely used in clinical practice. The present study investigated the occurrence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hamburgers and sandwiches sold in supermarkets and fast food outlets in Salvador, BA, Brazil. Fifty samples of frozen raw hamburgers (25: beef and 25: chicken) and 50 samples of ready-to-eat sandwiches (25: beef and 25: chicken) were collected and investigated for the presence of MRSA. MRSA was present in 32% of the hamburgers and 8% of the sandwiches. The frequency of MRSA was higher in the samples containing chicken meat. However, the statistical analysis showed no association between MRSA presence and the type of meat investigated (P > 0.05). The high prevalence of MRSA in hamburgers and the presence of the microorganism in ready-to-eat sandwiches are worrying and indicate the need for better control during food preparation to prevent the spread of bacteria.

Prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Other Staphylococcus Species in Raw Meat Samples Intended for Human Consumption in Benin City, Nigeria: Implications for Public Health

“…However, Kumar et al [28] also reported that 3 (15.78%) were S. aureus which was significantly lower than our finding of 30 (60%). Contreras et al [29] also revealed that MRSA was detected in 32% of the hamburgers and 8% of the sandwiches investigated in Brazil, which was within the findings of our study.…”

Prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in Some Ready-to-Eat Meat Products

“…Food products surveyed as meat and its products are widely known to be an important reservoir and main source of MRSA in humans [8]. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the incidence of coagulase-positive S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains in different popular ready-to-eat meat sandwiches (kofta, burger, shawerma, and luncheon) in Benha city.…”

A survey of prevalence and phenotypic and genotypic assessment of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus bacteria isolated from ready-to-eat food samples collected from Tehran Province, Iran

“…Moreover, the isolates harbored the concurrent presence of two antibiotic resistance genes, particularly aacA-D + blaZ , tetK + blaZ , aacA-D + tetK , aacA-D + gyrA, and ermA + blaZ together. A high prevalence of multi-drug resistant S. aureus was reported in previous investigations as well [ 44 – 46 ]. However, the literature review showed no report on the prevalence of gyrA , vatC , blaZ , vatA , cat1 , rpoB , dfrA , linA , vatB , msrA , aacA-D , ermA , grlA , tetK, and tetM genes among the S. aureus bacteria recovered from ready-to-eat food samples.…”