Prevalence, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Molecular Characterization of Isolated from Animals, Meats, and Market Environments in Xinjiang, China.

has been recognized as an important foodborne pathogen. However, knowledge about the epidemiology and genetic characteristics of in the meat production chain from farm to market is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic characteristics of in animal samples isolated from Xinjiang province farms and farmer' markets, by determining staphylococcal protein A () repeat region and virulence factor typing, and by assessment of antimicrobial resistance. Out of 1324 samples, 128 (9.7%) were positive for , 26 (2.0%) of them were identified as methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and 88 (6.6%) of them were identified as vancomycin-resistant (VRSA). Antimicrobial resistance was determined using the disk diffusion method. isolates showed resistance to penicillin G (98.4%), clarithromycin (69.5%), erythromycin (69.5%), vancomycin (68.8%), and tetracycline (67.2%). A total of 80.4% of isolates showed resistance to three or more antimicrobial classes. PCR was used to detect ten virulence genes such as the enterotoxin (, , and ), hemolysin ( and ), clumping factor (), and fibronectin-binding proteins A and B ( and ). Our study showed that isolates harbored two or seven virulence genes. All strains encode and , and half of them encode and enterotoxin genes. The typing results showed that the 128 isolates were grouped into 32 types. The main types were t127 (22.7%), t2592 (12.5%), t437 (10.9%), and t2616 (10.9%). Notably, isolates of t437 type accounted for 46.2% of the MRSA. Our data indicate that meats in the slaughterhouse and farmers' markets were contaminated with . virulence genes and types were diverse, and its antibiotic resistance was serious. The presence of MRSA and VRSA represents potential public health risks and warrants further investigation regarding the driving factors of such resistance and their transmission to humans.