Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence of Enterococcus spp. Isolated from Traditional Cheese Types

BACKGROUND: Enterococci are naturally found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of animals and humans, as well as animal-derived foods and vegetables. We here aimed to determine the prevalence, antibiotic resistance, and virulence determinants of E. faecium and E. faecalis in traditional cheese in the North-west of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty specimens of popular traditional cheese from dairy stores of Urmia and Tabriz, Iran, were collected. Identification of the genus and species of enterococci was done using molecular and phenotypic techniques. RESULTS: Forty-eight (96 %) of 50 traditional cheese samples were harboring Enterococcus spp, including Enterococcus faecalis (n= 40; 83.33 %) and E. faecium (n= 8; 16.67 %). The prevalence of enterococci ranged from 1.1×10(5) to 9.7×10(4) CFU/g, and 1.1×10(3) to 9.8×10(3) CFU/g in Urmia and Tabriz samples, respectively. Rifampicin resistance (n= 38; 79.2 %) was the most common pattern observed in the susceptibility test, which was followed by quinupristin/dalfopristin (n= 33; 68.75 %). Among E. faecalis isolates, cpd (100 %), ace (92.5 %) and gelE (87.5 %), and among E. faecium isolates, gelE (100 %) and asa1 (75 %) were found to have the most common virulence genes. CONCLUSION: E. faecalis was the predominant species, displaying more virulence determinants. It also had high antibiotic resistance, as compared to E. faecium. The enterococci identified here commonly expressed virulence and antibiotic resistance determinants. So, it is required to improve the maintenance and production quality of traditional cheese to avoid enterococci contamination.