MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS SPECIES ISOLATED FROM RAW MEAT OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS IN SULAIMANI CITY, IRAQ
bacterial spoilage of meat
Keywords:
antibiotic sensitivity test, beta-lactamase, food-borne bacteria, tetracycline resistance gene, virulent geneAbstract
Meat-borne bacteria cause a variety of diseases, some resulting in death and emergence multidrug-resistant bacteria has compounded the problem. Here, the prevalence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus spp contamination were investigated in meat samples (n = 70) together with drug resistance phenotype and presence of resistance genes, and in E. coli isolates phenotypic groups and carriage of virulent genes. E. coli and Staphylococcus spp were detected in 57 and 18% of meat samples respectively, mainly in whole chicken meat and liver, obtained from meat retailors in Sulaimani City, Iraq from December 2018 to January 2019. Resistance to tetracycline was predominant in Staphylococcus spp (92%) and E. coli (73%) isolates, while both were sensitive to cefotaxime and the latter also to aztreonam and imipenem. Multidrug resistance phenotype was detected in both E. coli (42%) and Staphylococci spp (69%). Only tetK was detected in one tetracycline-resistant E. coli and Staphylococci spp isolate respectively, and among beta-lactam-resistant isolates only one oxacillin-resistant Staphylococci spp isolate carried blaOXA while no resistance genes were detected in E. coli isolates. The majority of E. coli isolates (62.5%) belonged to phenotypic groups G1 and G2, associated with clinically important and other pathogenic (extra-intestinal) strains. One E. coli isolate from a beef sample harbored Shiga-encoded Stx2, indicative of a pathogenic enterohemorrhagic strain. In conclusion, raw meat on sale in Sulaimani City contained high levels of contamination by multidrug-resistant E. coli and Staphylococci spp, a finding that should be of concern to the city public health authorities.
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