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Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens responsible for food poisoning due to its ability to produce staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE). S. aureus can form biofilms on the surfaces of food processing devices, enabling the distribution of SE on foods through cross-contamina...

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Autores principales: Tasanapak, Kannipa, Kucharoenphaibul, Siriwat, Wongwigkarn, Jintana, Sitthisak, Sutthirat, Thummeepak, Rapee, Chaibenjawong, Plykaeow, Chatdumrong, Wassana, Nimanussornkul, Kunsuda
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: PeerJ Inc. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10434075/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37601259
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15824
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author Tasanapak, Kannipa
Kucharoenphaibul, Siriwat
Wongwigkarn, Jintana
Sitthisak, Sutthirat
Thummeepak, Rapee
Chaibenjawong, Plykaeow
Chatdumrong, Wassana
Nimanussornkul, Kunsuda
author_facet Tasanapak, Kannipa
Kucharoenphaibul, Siriwat
Wongwigkarn, Jintana
Sitthisak, Sutthirat
Thummeepak, Rapee
Chaibenjawong, Plykaeow
Chatdumrong, Wassana
Nimanussornkul, Kunsuda
author_sort Tasanapak, Kannipa
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens responsible for food poisoning due to its ability to produce staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE). S. aureus can form biofilms on the surfaces of food processing devices, enabling the distribution of SE on foods through cross-contamination events. Thailand is known for its exotic cuisine, but there is no data on the prevalence of SE-harboring S. aureus in restaurants in Thailand. METHODS: In this study, we conducted surface swabs on surfaces of kitchen utensil that come into contact with food and on the hands of food handlers working in restaurants in the north part of Thailand. Isolated S. aureus was investigated for biofilm formation, virulence, and SE genes. RESULTS: Two hundred S. aureus were isolated from 650 samples. The highest prevalence of S. aureus contamination was detected on the hands of food handlers (78%), followed by chopping boards (26%), plates (23%), knives (16%), spoons (13%), and glasses (5%). All of them were methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and the mecA gene was not present in any strains. Biofilm formation was detected using the CRA method, and 49 (24.5%) were identified as biofilm-producing strains, with the hands of food handlers identified as the primary source of biofilm-producing strains. The prevelence of biofilm-related adhesion genes detected were: icaAD (13%), fnbA (14.5%), cna (6.5%), and bap (0.5%). Two classical enterotoxin genes, sec and sed, were also found in four and six of the S. aureus isolates, respectively, from hands and utensils. CONCLUSION: The highest prevelence of S. aureus was detected on the hands of food handlers. S. aureus strains with biofilm and enterotoxin production abilities were discovered on food contact surfaces and the hands of food handlers, implying significant risk of food contamination from these sources that could be harmful to consumers. To avoid cross-contamination of food with food contact items, the food handlers’ hands should be properly washed, and all food preparation equipment should be thoroughly cleaned.
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spelling pubmed-104340752023-08-18 Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants Tasanapak, Kannipa Kucharoenphaibul, Siriwat Wongwigkarn, Jintana Sitthisak, Sutthirat Thummeepak, Rapee Chaibenjawong, Plykaeow Chatdumrong, Wassana Nimanussornkul, Kunsuda PeerJ Food Science and Technology BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens responsible for food poisoning due to its ability to produce staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE). S. aureus can form biofilms on the surfaces of food processing devices, enabling the distribution of SE on foods through cross-contamination events. Thailand is known for its exotic cuisine, but there is no data on the prevalence of SE-harboring S. aureus in restaurants in Thailand. METHODS: In this study, we conducted surface swabs on surfaces of kitchen utensil that come into contact with food and on the hands of food handlers working in restaurants in the north part of Thailand. Isolated S. aureus was investigated for biofilm formation, virulence, and SE genes. RESULTS: Two hundred S. aureus were isolated from 650 samples. The highest prevalence of S. aureus contamination was detected on the hands of food handlers (78%), followed by chopping boards (26%), plates (23%), knives (16%), spoons (13%), and glasses (5%). All of them were methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and the mecA gene was not present in any strains. Biofilm formation was detected using the CRA method, and 49 (24.5%) were identified as biofilm-producing strains, with the hands of food handlers identified as the primary source of biofilm-producing strains. The prevelence of biofilm-related adhesion genes detected were: icaAD (13%), fnbA (14.5%), cna (6.5%), and bap (0.5%). Two classical enterotoxin genes, sec and sed, were also found in four and six of the S. aureus isolates, respectively, from hands and utensils. CONCLUSION: The highest prevelence of S. aureus was detected on the hands of food handlers. S. aureus strains with biofilm and enterotoxin production abilities were discovered on food contact surfaces and the hands of food handlers, implying significant risk of food contamination from these sources that could be harmful to consumers. To avoid cross-contamination of food with food contact items, the food handlers’ hands should be properly washed, and all food preparation equipment should be thoroughly cleaned. PeerJ Inc. 2023-08-14 /pmc/articles/PMC10434075/ /pubmed/37601259 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15824 Text en © 2023 Tasanapak et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
spellingShingle Food Science and Technology
Tasanapak, Kannipa
Kucharoenphaibul, Siriwat
Wongwigkarn, Jintana
Sitthisak, Sutthirat
Thummeepak, Rapee
Chaibenjawong, Plykaeow
Chatdumrong, Wassana
Nimanussornkul, Kunsuda
Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants
title Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants
title_full Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants
title_fullStr Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants
title_short Prevalence and virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in Thai restaurants
title_sort prevalence and virulence genes of staphylococcus aureus from food contact surfaces in thai restaurants
topic Food Science and Technology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10434075/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37601259
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15824
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