Occurrence and Patterns of Enterotoxin Genes, <i>spa</i> Types and Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> in Food and Food Contact Surfaces in Singapore
2023
Ker Li Lim | Wei Ching Khor | Kar Hui Ong | Lois Timothy | Kyaw Thu Aung
<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> contamination of food and food contact surfaces is a public health concern given its virulent and antimicrobial-resistant properties worldwide. In this study, a total of 181 MSSA isolates were analyzed for SE genes, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and <i>spa</i> types. Overall, 24.9% of isolates were positive for SE gene detection, with <i>sea</i> being the most prevalent classical SE (18.8%). The most predominant sample sources for SE gene contamination were hand swabs for <i>sea</i> (6/48), meat dishes for <i>seb</i> (3/14) and seafood dishes for <i>sec</i> (2/24). Antimicrobial resistance was also observed at relatively high frequencies for the clinically important antibiotics penicillin G and ampicillin (both 54.7%), followed by tetracycline (14.9%) and azithromycin (8.8%). In addition, characterization of <i>spa</i> types revealed <i>spa</i> type t5078 to be the most predominant (40.3%), with significant associations between <i>spa</i> types t127 and t5521 and the <i>sea</i> gene. This study offers insights into the enterotoxin gene and antimicrobial resistance profiles of <i>S. aureus</i> in cooked or ready-to-eat food to inform future surveillance and epidemiological studies.
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