Prevalence of Staphylococci spp and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern isolated from foodstuffs in Isfahan in 2015-2016

In developing countries, the presence and diversity of Staphylococcus species in foodstuffs have not been comprehensively studied. So, the present study aimed to investigate the dissemination of Staphylococcus spp. and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern isolated from foodstuffs in Isfahan in 2015-2016. A total of 194 foodstuff samples were collected from different parts of Isfahan city and processed for the presence of Staphylococcus spp. The conventional tests were used for the primary detection of bacteria and the sequence analysis of 16S rRNA was used for the species identification. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of isolates was determined by the disk diffusion method. From a total of 194 food samples, 92 Gram-positive cocci (47.5%) were isolated. Of them, 84 isolates were Staphylococcus spp., 7 Macrococcus spp and one Micrococcus spp. The most prevalent species were S. aureus 25% (21/84), S. vitulinus 15.5% (13/84) and S. succinus sub casei 11.9% (10/84). The most antibiotic resistance rates were against penicillin (59/5%) and tetracycline (20.2%) while the lowest antibiotic resistance rates were observed for levofloxacin, rifampicin, gentamicin, and ciprofloxacin. Characterization of Staphylococcus species is important for epidemiological investigations. Proper identification and management practices including analysis of 16S rRNA for the species identification should be considered to increase food safety and prevent extra treatment costs.