: Prevalence, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance from retail and processed meat in Egypt.

BACKGROUND AND AIM

The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of in retail chicken meat, ground and processed beef meat, determine their virulence-associated genes, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, molecular detection of extended-spectrum β-lactamases, and their capability of biofilm formation .

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 210 samples (120 retail chicken meat, 30 ground beef, 30 beef burger, and 30 sausage samples) were collected from different retail chicken outlets and markets located at Mansoura city between December 2016 and April 2017. Meat samples were examined bacteriologically for the existence of ; bacterial colonies that displayed positive biochemical properties were subjected to polymerase chain reaction targeting 16 rRNA gene. isolates were tested for their susceptibility to six antimicrobial agents using disk diffusion method. Uniplex PCR was used for screening isolates for the presence of two virulence chromosome-associated genes ( and ), and β-lactamases ( and ). The capability of to form biofilms was detected by tube method.

RESULTS

Thirty isolates (14.29%) were recovered including 19 (15.83%) isolates from chicken meat, 3 (10%) from ground beef, 5 (16.67%) from beef burger, and 3 (10%) from sausage samples. Regarding gene, it was detected in 6.67% (2/30), while gene detected in 20% (6/30) isolates. About 80%, 70%, 63.33%, and 50% of isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, cefotaxime, and streptomycin, respectively, while 83.33% of isolates were resistant to both ampicillin and cephalothin. Interestingly, 21 (70%) isolates had the capability of biofilms formation . Among the multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains, a significant difference (p<0.05) was found between MDR and biofilm formation. However, biofilm formation was correlated with the resistance of the isolates to β-lactam antimicrobials and the presence of β-lactam-resistant genes.

CONCLUSION

The presence of in chicken meat, ground and processed beef meat represents a significant health risk for meat consumers, which reflects the contamination of slaughterhouses and processing operations, therefore, strict hygienic measures should be applied to minimize carcasses contamination.