Prevalence, multidrug resistance and molecular typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in retail meat from Punjab, India

Asima Zehra; Maliha Gulzar; Randhir Singh; Simranpreet Kaur; J P S Gill

doi:10.1016/j.jgar.2018.10.005

Prevalence, multidrug resistance and molecular typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in retail meat from Punjab, India

J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2019 Mar:16:152-158. doi: 10.1016/j.jgar.2018.10.005. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Authors

Asima Zehra¹, Maliha Gulzar², Randhir Singh³, Simranpreet Kaur³, J P S Gill⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health and Zoonoses, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, Punjab, India. Electronic address: assimazehra@gmail.com.
² Sheri-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, India.
³ School of Public Health and Zoonoses, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
⁴ GADVASU, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.

PMID: 30312831
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2018.10.005

Abstract

Objectives: This study reports the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in retail meat from Punjab, India.

Methods: Classical microbiological methods were applied to isolate and identify S. aureus isolates. Isolates also underwent Etest. PCR and sequencing were used to identify and characterise antimicrobial resistance genes. MLST, SCCmec and spa typing were performed.

Results: A total of 408 meat and 101 swab samples were processed for S. aureus isolation. Phenotypic resistance was highest to penicillin (90.97%), followed by ciprofloxacin (61.80%), tetracycline (45.14%) and erythromycin (11.11%). Isolates from chicken samples showed significantly higher MICs for tetracycline than chevon and pork samples and significantly higher MICs for trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and gentamicin than chevon and swab samples (P<0.05). No isolates were phenotypically resistant to vancomycin (MICs of 0.5-2μg/mL). Most isolates (52.78%, 95% CI 44.63-60.93%) were multidrug-resistant and carried resistance genes to penicillin (blaZ), oxacillin (mecA), gentamicin (aacA-aphD), erythromycin (ermB, ermC) and tetracycline (tetK, tetL, tetM). MRSA was only found in chicken samples (2.72%; 4/147). Seven S. aureus (5.07%) were borderline oxacillin-resistant (MIC range 4-8μg/mL). All MRSA were SCCmecV-pvl⁺-t442, among which three isolates were ST5. Their genotype was mecA⁺, blaZ⁺, aacA-aphD⁺, tetK⁺, ermC^+/-. Among the erythromycin-resistant isolates, 25% were MRSA, of which 12.5% isolates expressed an inducible macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B (iMLS_B) phenotype.

Conclusion: These data confirm the presence of ST5-t442-MRSA-SCCmecV-pvl⁺ and iMLS_B MRSA in meat samples, indicating a potential role of meat in the dissemination of multidrug-resistant S. aureus strains and successful MRSA lineages in Punjab.

Keywords: MRSA; Multidrug resistance; SCCmec type; ST5; Staphylococcus aureus; spa t442.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Bacterial Typing Techniques
Chickens
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial* / genetics
Food Contamination
Food Microbiology*
India
Meat / microbiology*
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / classification*
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects*
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Multilocus Sequence Typing
Prevalence
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Swine

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents