Variety of Antimicrobial Resistances and Virulence Factors in Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Meat Products Legally and Illegally Introduced to Germany

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 12; p. e0167864
• Main Authors: Müller, Anja, Seinige, Diana, Jansen, Wiebke, Klein, Günter, Ehricht, Ralf, Monecke, Stefan, Kehrenberg, Corinna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 09.12.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Airports; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Bacteria; Biology and Life Sciences; Data collection; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Food production; Food quality; Food safety; Germany; Gram-positive bacteria; Health aspects; International trade; Livestock; Meat; Meat products; Meat Products - microbiology; Medicine and Health Sciences; Microbial drug resistance; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Multilocus sequence typing; Passengers; Pathogens; People and Places; Pneumonia; Regulation; Research and Analysis Methods; Risk factors; Staphylococcus; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - pathogenicity; Staphylococcus aureus infections; Staphylococcus infections; Studies; Transportation; Veterinary medicine; Virulence; Virulence factors; Germany
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167864

Food products of animal origin can serve as a vehicle for Staphylococcus (S.) aureus, a facultative pathogen involved in a variety of diseases. As a result, international trade and illegal transportation of foodstuffs can facilitate the distribution of S. aureus over long distances. In this study, we investigated S. aureus isolates recovered from meat products confiscated from passengers returning from non-EU countries at two German airports and from samples of legally imported meats from non-EU countries. The aim was to characterize isolates in regard to their genetic relatedness as well as their antimicrobial resistance profiles and major virulence factors in order to assess potential risks associated with these products. The isolates were characterized by spa typing, MLST, macrorestriction analysis, microarray analysis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. MRSA isolates were further characterized by dru typing. The characteristics of the majority of the isolates indicated a human origin, rather than an association with livestock. The results further revealed a considerable heterogeneity among the MRSA isolates, despite their common origin. Overall, a plenitude of major virulence factors and antimicrobial resistances was detected among the isolates, highlighting the potential risks associated with contaminated meat products and the transportation of such products among different countries.