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- Characterization for enterotoxin production, virulence factors, and antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from various foods in PortugalPublication . Pereira, V.; Lopes, C.; Castro, A.; Silva, J.; Gibbs, P.; Teixeira, P.Staphylococcus aureus represents a public health challenge worldwide. The aim of this study was the characterization of different food isolates of S. aureus on the basis of their production of enterotoxins, hemolysins and resistance to antibiotics. A total of 148 coagulase-positive staphylococcal strains isolated from different food origins were identified to the species level. By multiplex PCR, 69% of the isolates were shown to be enterotoxigenic (SEs); the most common were sea seg, sea seg sei and seg sei. According to CLSI [CLSI, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, 2007. Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing; Fifteenth Informational Supplement. CLSI document M100-S15. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, Wayne, PA], 38% of the isolates were resistant to oxacillin ( 6 mg/mL; MRSA positives) but only 0.68% showed the presence of mecA gene. 70 and 73% of the S. aureus strains were resistant to b-lactams, ampicillin and penicillin, respectively. The virulence pattern was demonstrated to be origin and strain dependent. These findings emphasise the need to prevent the presence of S. aureus strains and SEs production in foods
- Food handlers as potential sources of dissemination of virulent strains of Staphylococcus aureus in the communityPublication . Castro, A.; Santos, C.; Meireles, H.; Silva, Joana; Teixeira, PaulaFood handlers may constitute a reservoir of virulent strains of Staphy-lococcus aureus and may be vehicles of their transmission to food.One hundred and sixty-two volunteers were assessed for the presence of S. aureuson the hands and in the nose. S. aureus was isolated by routine procedures, and theisolates were tested for susceptibility against a panel of nine antimicrobial agents.The isolates were further characterized by SmaI-PFGE profiling and the presence ofvirulence factors.Results: The prevalence of S. aureus was 19.8% in the nose and 11.1% on the hands;6.2% of the individuals carried S. aureus both in their noses and hands, and threeindividuals had the same strain (PFGE type) in the nose and on the hands. Although82% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic, none demonstrated thepresence of either mecA gene or resistance to oxacillin (none identified as MRSA).Sixty-eight percent of the isolates from the nose and hands possessed enterotoxingenes.This study revealed a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance and virulence deter-minants among the isolates, including not only classical and novel enterotoxin genesbut also major virulence factors such as tst. Potential dissemination of these strainsin the community is a matter of concern.© 2015 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by ElsevierLimited. All rights reserved