Open AccessPrevalence of Staphylococcus aureus methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant nasal carriage in food handlers in Lebanon: a potential source of transmission of virulent strains in the community
Author(s) -
Marwan Osman,
Khadija Kamal-Dine,
Khaled El Omari,
Rayane Rafei,
Fouad Dabboussi,
Monzer Hamzé
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
access microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2516-8290
DOI - 10.1099/acmi.0.000043
Subject(s) - carriage , virulence , staphylococcus aureus , microbiology and biotechnology , transmission (telecommunications) , methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus , medicine , virology , biology , bacteria , biochemistry , genetics , electrical engineering , gene , engineering , pathology
Purpose To determine the prevalence and virulence determinant genes of nasal colonization byStaphylococcus aureusamong food handlers in Tripoli, Lebanon. Methodology Within a cross-sectional study design, nasal swab specimens were collected. Epidemiological and microbiological investigations were performed through conventional culture and MALDI-TOF-MS. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns and genetic virulence determinants including enterotoxin genes were also investigated for all isolates. Results The data herein show thatS. aureusnasal carriage is highly prevalent (23.8 %), and that the rate of methicillin-resistantS. aureus(MRSA) carriage was twice as high as in our last report in 2008. Several enterotoxin genes were detected in five isolates including one MRSA and four methicillin-sensitiveS. aureus . Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first investigation in the last decade to examine the carriage prevalence ofS. aureusamong food handlers in Lebanon. This work reports a concerning level of MRSA, and enterotoxin-producingS. aureusnasal carriage, which could potentially act as a contamination reservoir and lead to food poisoning.