Staphylococcus aureus in Poultry: Prevalence and Antibiogram of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Avian Species in the Southern Provinces of Egypt

INTENSIVE usage of antibiotics in poultry sectors enabled the consequent emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and the development of their corresponding antibiotic resistance genes in the environment of human and animal food chains. To determine the antibiotic resistance of MRSA in poultry, 405 different samples (205 broiler farms, 124 backyards, 60 hatchers, and 16 slaughterhouses) were collected from southern Egypt. Identification was carried out by the classical culture methods, and the disc diffusion test was used to determine the antibiotic resistance patterns. Almost, 10% (40/405) of isolated S. aureus was identified as coagulase-positive. While 23% (94/405) was coagulase-negative Staphylococci. As expected, most of S. aureus isolates were susceptible for Vancomycin (95%), sulfamethoxazole trimethoprim (80%), and chloramphenicol (75%). Contrariwise, the high resistance was shown to clindamycin (97.5%), erythromycin (95%), tetracycline (90%), and penicillin and oxacillin (82.5%). MRSA strains were identified as 95% (38/40) of all isolated S. aureus by using a conventional PCR directed to the mec-A gene. This high proportion of MRSA in poultry has a considerable risk to public health. So that, the results of this study highlight the need for control programs that encompass primary animal production and the food chain to alleviate the contamination of MRSA for the poultry industry of Egypt, and consequently for humans.