The study aimed to determine the prevalence and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance pattern of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from food products and food handlers at different retail outlets and superstores in Alexandria city, Egypt. A total of 100 food products including raw milk, Damietta cheese, beef burger, sausage, and chicken pane (20 of each) as well as 100 hand swabs were randomly collected from 100 food handlers and screened for the presence of MRSA using MRSA selective agar medium. MRSA isolate was confirmed from each nuc /mecA PCR-positive sample. The overall prevalence rate of MRSA in food products and food handlers was 12% and 5%, respectively. Concerning the food products samples, the highest rate of isolation was recorded in the examined samples of beef burger (20%), followed by sausage (15%) then raw milk and chicken pane (10%) and finally Damietta cheese (5%). The antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the 12 MRSA isolates from food products samples clarified that all (100%) MRSA isolates showed resistance to Cefoxitin and Penicillin G. On the contrary, 100% of the isolates were sensitive to Ceftaroline and Linezolid. Regarding food handlers, prevalence rate was 5.3% in males and 4.2% in females. The phenotypic antimicrobial resistance pattern of the 5 MRSA isolates from food handlers revealed that all (100%) MRSA isolates exhibited resistance to Cefoxitin and Penicillin G. Conversely, 100% of the isolates were sensitive to Ceftaroline and Linezolid. The results of the current study suggest that raw food products may have been contaminated with MDR MRSA strains which could be a potential public health risk. Moreover, these findings unequivocally show the need for enhanced hygiene standards to minimize the risk of occupational and food-borne illness associated with handling and/or consuming raw animal food products harboring MRSA.
Key words: MRSA, prevalence, food, handlers, antimicrobial susceptibility.
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