Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Staphylococcus aureus in Commercialized Food in Oran, Algeria

Background: With regard to health-threatening infections, Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of polymorphic infections varying from a banal tegumentary infection to numerous lethal illnesses. Furthermore, it is the third commonest bacterial cause of food-borne infections worldwide.This study aimed to investigate contamination, prevalence, and antibiotic resistance of S. aureus isolated from several widely marketed food products (raw and processed) in the region of Oran, Algeria. Methods: A total of 350 food samples including prepared meals (n=110), dairy products (n=42), pastry (n=78), meat and its derivatives (n=97), and other commercially available foods (egg products, sweets, and sauces) (n=23) have been randomly purchased from diverse sale outlets and screened for S. aureus strains during the period from July 2021 to September 2022. The isolation and identication of S. aureus bacteria were preformed using conventional culture and biochemical tests such as catalase, coagulase, and DNase tests. Furthermore, the strains were screened for their resistance to five different antimicrobial drugs using the agar diffusion method. Results: The overall prevalence of S. aureus determined among the collecteded samples was 31.14% (109/350), where, pastry products harbored the highest contamination rate (43.59%), and prepared meals, the lowest contamination rate (18.18%). The strains presented a high level of resistance (58.71-39.44%) for gentamycin and oxacilin, respectively. Moreover, the lowest level of resistance was observed against erythromycin 16.51%, and about 83% of strains presented multidrug resistance. Conclusion: The significative prevalence and the high level of multidrug resistant of S. aureus highlights the seriousness to improve food contamination prevention programs and underlines that good hygiene practices at sale outlets has a major impact on the sanitary quality of commercialized food products.