Significant differences were found in a study at Islamic Azad University in ShahreKord by researchers investigating virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from chicken meat in Isfahan province.

There were differences in the presence of various virulence and antibiotic resistance genes in Staph aureus isolated from chicken meat samples, according to Hassan Momtaz and colleagues.

They also noted that inspection of chicken meat using multiplex PCR is a useful technique for detection of Staph aureus virulence and antibiotic resistance genes.

The objectives of the current study - published in Journal of Applied Poultry Research - were to detect virulence factors and determine antimicrobial susceptibility of Staph aureus by using 360 fresh raw chicken meats, collected from 133 chicken shops in Isfahan between January 2011 and March 2012.

The Staph aureus isolates were identified using culture and phenotypical methods. The PCR assays were developed with specific primers for the detection of different virulence and antibiotic resistance genes of Staph aureus. The agar disk diffusion method was used for evaluation of antibiotic susceptibility of Staph aureus isolated from chicken meat samples.

In this survey, 101 out of 360 samples were positive for Staphylococcus (28.05 per cent).

Of the 360 samples, 82 (22.77 per cent) were positive for Staph aureus and, out of 82 positive samples, 96.34 per cent had X-region, 76.92 per cent had fibrinogen clumping factor A, 63.41 per cent had staphylococcal coagulase virulence genes, 26.82 per cent had IgG binding region, and the toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 gene was not isolated in any sample.

Among the Staph aureus-positive samples, methicillin resistance genes were most prevalent (82.92 per cent) and macrolides the least (34.14 per cent) antibiotic-resistant genes.

Tetracycline had the highest resistant profile (97.56 per cent) in Staph aureus isolates, followed by methicillin (75.6), sulfamethoxazol (31.7 per cent), trimethoprim (31.7 per cent), streptomycin (31.7 per cent), gentamicin (29.26 per cent), enrofloxacin (28.04 per cent), ampicillin (26.82 per cent), chloramphenicol (20.73 per cent) and cephalothin (17.07 per cent).

Momtaz and colleagues report that statistical analysis showed significant differences between presences of various virulence and antibiotic resistance genes in Staph aureus isolated from chicken meat samples.

Reference

Momtaz H., F.S. Dehkordi, E. Rahimi, A. Asgarifar and M. Momeni. 2013. Virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from chicken meat in Isfahan province, Iran. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 22(4):913-921. doi: 10.3382/japr.2012-00673