Molecular Characterization and Genotypic and Genotypic Evaluation of Antibiotic Resistance of Methicillin Resistant-staphylococcus Aureus Isolated From Raw Meat

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is considered to be one of the most important causes of food-borne diseases. The present investigation was done to assess the phenotypic and genotypic characterization and distribution of Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec types and Panton–Valentine leukocidin gene in the MRSA strains isolated from raw meat samples. Six-hundred and eighty meat samples were collected and cultured. MRSA strains were subjected to disk diffusion and Polymerase Chain Reaction. One-hundred and thirty-five out of 680 (18.38%) raw meat samples were positive for S. aureus . Seventy-nine out of 125 (63.20%) S. aureus strains were determined as MRSA. Raw sheep meat samples (75%) had the highest prevalence of MRSA, while raw camel had the lowest (50%). Fifty-eight out of 79 (73.41%) MRSA strains harbored the PVL gene. SCCmec IVa (39.65%), V (22.41%) and III (10.34%) were the most commonly detected types in the MRSA strains. MRSA strains harbored the highest prevalence of resistance against penicillin (100%), tetracycline (100%), gentamicin (65.51%) and erythromycin (56.89%). AadA1 (58.62%), tetK (56.89%), msrA (41.37%) and vatA (36.20%) were the most commonly detected antibiotic resistance genes. Simultaneous presence of PVL and antibiotic resistance genes in multi-drug resistant MRSA strains specifies significant public health problem.