Susceptibility to antibiotics and virulence profiling of Proteus mirabilis among foodstuff

Abstract

Proteus mirabilis is a genus of bacteria that can cause foodborne diseases. We collected 100 canned food samples from local supermarkets in Hillah (Iraq), including juice (23%), milk products (22%), beef (20%), fish (14%), milk (12%), and tomato paste (9%) samples. We subsequently characterized some virulence factors of P. mirabilis found in these foodstuff, including biofilm formation, protease activity, motility, haemolysis, adhesion, urease production, lipase pro¬duction, and antibiotic susceptibility. In a total of 32 foodstuff samples of positive culture, P. mirabilis was isolated in 15 (46.8%), including 3 juice samples, 4 milk product samples, 2 beef samples, 1 fish sample, 3 milk samples, and 2 tomato paste samples. All isolates exhibited swarming motility (100%) and urease production (100%), while none of the isolates was found to produce haemolysin. The results of the antibiotic susceptibility test revealed a higher re¬sistance against ampicillin (86.6%).