Prevalence, Enterotoxigenic Potential and Antimicrobial Resistance of and Methicillin-Resistant (MRSA) Isolated from Algerian Ready to Eat Foods

causes a foodborne intoxication due to the production of enterotoxins and shows antimicrobial resistance, as in the case of methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA). Herein, we analyzed 207 ready-to-eat foods collected in Algeria, reporting a prevalence of 23.2% (48/207) and respective loads of coagulase positive staphylococci (CPS) ranging from 1.00 ± 0.5 to 5.11 ± 0.24 Log CFU/g. The 48 isolates were widely characterized by staphylococcal enterotoxin gene (SEg)-typing and 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region (ISR)-PCR, as well as by detecting and A genes, genetic determinants of toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 and methicillin resistance, respectively. We found that the isolates belonged to seven different SEg-types harboring the following combinations of genes: (1) W, X; (2) (G, I, M, N, O), W, X; (3) A, H, K, Q, W, X; (4) B, W, X; (5) D, J, R, W, X; (6) H, W, X, Y; and (7) A, , W, X, while among these, 2.1% and 4.2% were and A- (staphylococcal chromosomal cassette -type IV) positive, respectively. Selected strains belonging to the 12 detected ISR-types were resistant towards antimicrobials including benzylpenicillin, ofloxacin, erythromycin, lincomycin, tetracyclin, kanamycin, oxacillin, and cefoxitin; 8.3% (1/12) were confirmed as MRSA and 16.7% (2/12) were multidrug resistant. The present study shows the heterogeneity of the population in Algerian ready-to-eat foods as for their toxigenic potential and antimicrobial resistance, shedding the light on the quality and safety related to the consume of ready-to-eat foods in Algeria.