Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens causing diseases for both humans and animals. Food, particularly meat, is considered the main vector for the transmission of this bacterium to humans. The findings of this study indicate that S. aureus contamination rates of pork and chicken meat samples were 24% and 16%, respectively. S. aureus isolates showed the highest resistance rates to penicillin (90%) and ampicillin (75%), and the lowest resistance to meropenem (5%) and linezolid (10%). Notably, 100% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic, and 65% were classified as multidrug-resistant strains. The results of molecular characterization revealed that all S. aureus isolates were positive for spa and 15% carried mecA. The detection rates of sea, seb, sed, and see genes were 20%, 5%, 15%, and 5%, respectively.
Staphylococcus aureus; toxin; MRSA; antibiotic resistance.
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