Antimicrobial resistance profile of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from raw meat: A research for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a risk factor for patients in general population and particularly in immunocompromised patients. As a matter of fact, it can produce serious infections that may then evolve in septicaemia. However, transmission of MRSA from food to people can represent a serious problem only for immunocompromised people. Vancomycin is the elective antimicrobial commonly used in case of MRSA infection, but S. aureus strains with reduced sensibility to vancomycin are emerging worldwide. We isolated 42 strains of S. aureus from 176 samples of raw meat (poultry, pork and beef) during a one-year survey. Each strain was tested against twelve antimicrobial to verify antibiotic resistance. We found no evidence of methicillin-, teicoplanin- or vancomycin-resistance, but a lot of multiresistant microorganisms, i.e. resistant to three or more antibiotics. These results confirm the hypothesis that antibiotics resistance is present not only in nosocomial bacteria, but also in community environments microorganisms.