Virulence and Resistance Gene Profiles of Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Ready-to-Eat Foods

Abstract

Staphylococcal food poisoning represents the most prevalent foodborne intoxication worldwide. Oral intake of staphylococcal enterotoxins from food can result in emesis and diarrhea and can be fatal in children and the elderly. Few data have been available on the characteristics and sources of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. In this study, we used a DNA microarray to determine virulence and antimicrobial resistance gene profiles of S. aureus from RTE foods. A total of 267 S. aureus strains isolated from 244 RTE foods were investigated. The isolates originated from precooked foods (41% of isolates), meat and fish products (17%), cheese (13%), delicatessen salads (8%), sandwiches and canapés (8%), confectionery and bakery products (6%), and various other RTE foods (7%). Eleven samples (5%), of which 9 were raw milk cheeses, contained >105 CFU/g, which is considered a health risk. Four S. aureus strains were associated with intoxications; three cases were linked to consumption of cheese and one case was linked to consumption of potato salad. DNA microarray results revealed that one-third of the tested strains had at least one major enterotoxin gene (sea through see). We also detected the toxic shock syndrome gene (18% of isolates) and various genes conferring antimicrobial resistance, including genes involved in resistance to beta-lactams (blaZ, 72% of isolates), methicillin (mecA, 1% of isolates), and vancomycin (vanB, 1% of isolates). S. aureus strains were most frequently assigned to clonal complex (CC) 30 (17% of isolates), CC8 (12%), CC15 (11%), and CC45 (10%), which are commonly detected in humans colonized or infected with S. aureus. Although a large proportion of the tested food items contained milk, we did not detect CC705, the most prevalent clonal complex among S. aureus isolates from bovine mastitis milk. Our results suggest that S. aureus isolates from RTE foods do not commonly originate from animals but more likely come from food handlers who contaminate foods.