Veterinary Research Forum

Abstract Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causes of mastitis worldwide. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of S. aureus in mastitic milk samples collected from camel farms in Matrouh Governorate, Egypt. A total of 200 mastitic camel milk samples were evaluated for S. aureus using both conventional culture-based and molecular-based methods. Antibiotic susceptibility testing of S. aureus isolates was conducted using disc diffusion and agar dilution methods, with antibiotic resistance genes identified through polymerase chain reaction with specific primers. Out of samples tested, 60 (30.00%) were positive for S. aureus. The isolates displayed the highest of resistance against piperacillin-tazobactam (55.00%) followed by trimethoprim- sulfamethoxazole (45.00%) and amoxicillin (40.00%). Half of the isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR). The AMR genes included methicillin-resistant gene (mecA), β-lactamase gene (blaZ), tetracycline resistance gene (tetK), erythromycin resistance gene (ermB) and vancomycin resistant gene (vanA) were detected in 100%, 100%, 95.00%, 90.00% and 20.00% of the isolates, respectively. In conclusion, the presence of MDRS aureus as a cause of clinical camel mastitis is a significant veterinary and public health concern. These findings highlight the importance of proper antibiotic use in Egyptian camel farms and the need for molecular techniques to fully understand the genetic profile of antimicrobial-resistant S. aureus isolates.

Abstract Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is a major public health problem. Therefore, this study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of MRSA in various food products. A total number of 204 food samples including raw milk (n = 30), cheese (n = 60), chicken (n = 25), beef (n = 24) and fish (n = 65) were collected from August to November of 2021 within different localities in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate, the northern region of Egypt. All samples were assessed through a series of bacteriological and biochemical techniques to identify MRSA. Out of 204 samples, 52(25.49%) isolates were presumptively identified as MRSA on oxacillin resistance screening agar base media. Of these 52 isolates, 17(32.69%) were characterized as coagulase-positive. For the molecular confirmation of MRSA, all isolates were subjected to polymerase chain reaction assays to detect mecA and mecC. In addition, mecA was identified in all the isolates (100%), whereas, none was positive for mecC. Therefore, based on the detection of mecA, the overall occurrence rate of MRSA among the samples was 8.33%. The isolates were also subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Cefoxitin, cefuroxime, oxacillin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid were completely resistant (100%) to the isolates, however, susceptible to vancomycin and ciprofloxacin. Raw milk had the highest prevalence of MRSA (13.30%), followed by chicken (12.00%), fish (9.20%), cheese (5.00%) and beef (4.20%). Due to the possibility of transmission of these strains to humans, the high prevalence of MRSA in various foodstuffs in Egypt poses a potential public health risk.