Abstract:
The aim of this survey was to investigate the incidence of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci and their antibiogram in food and the environment in Makkah, western Saudi Arabia. Staphylococci were detected using selective plating, employing Staphylococcus medium no. 110 and mannitol salt agar. Confirmation of isolates was carried out using Gram staining, production of catalase, coagulase and type of blood heamolysis. Disk diffusion method was used to test susceptibility patterns of staphylococci against seven antibiotics. The results showed that staphylococci were present in almost all types of samples. Staph. aureus were prevalent in raw milk, cheese, mucous membranes and to a degree, in biofilm. Multidrug-resistance was noted in both coagulase-positive and coagulase-negative isolates from all types of samples. A remarkable level of resistance to beta-lactams and glycopeptides was exhibited by Staph. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci recovered from all types of samples. The results reported in this study clearly showed the wide spread of multidrug-resistant Staph. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci in food and the environment and highlighted their public health hazards. To our best knowledge this study is the first to provide evidence of the existence of multidrug-resistant Staph. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci in food and the environment in Makkah, western Saudi Arabia.
H.H. Abulreesh and S.R. Organji, 2011. The Prevalence of Multidrug-resistant Staphylococci in Food and the Environment of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Research Journal of Microbiology, 6: 510-523.
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