• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1537-1546
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• 2022

Staphylococcus aureus is a cause of high mortality in humans and therefore it is necessary to prevent its transmission and reduce infections. Our goals in this research were to investigate the frequency of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and assess the relationship between the phenotypic antimicrobial sensitivity patterns and the genes responsible for resistance. In addition, we examined the antimicrobial efficiency and application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against MRSA isolates. Seventy-two nasal swabs were taken from patients; MRSA was cultivated on Mannitol Salt Agar supplemented with methicillin, and 16S rRNA sequencing was conducted in addition to morphological and biochemical identification. Specific resistance genes such as ermAC, aacA-aphD, tetKM, vatABC and mecA were PCR-amplified and resistance plasmids were also investigated. The MRSA incidence was ~49 % among the 72 S. aureus isolates and all MRSA strains were resistant to oxacillin, penicillin, and cefoxitin. However, vancomycin, linezolid, teicoplanin, mupirocin, and rifampicin were effective against 100% of MRSA strains. About 61% of MRSA strains exhibited multidrug resistance and were resistant to 3-12 antimicrobial medications (MDR). Methicillin resistance gene mecA was presented in all MDR-MRSA strains. Most MDR-MRSA contained a plasmid of > 10 kb. To overcome bacterial resistance, AgNPs were applied and displayed high antimicrobial activity and synergistic effect with penicillin. Our findings may help establish programs to control bacterial spread in communities as AgNPs appeared to exert a synergistic effect with penicillin to control bacterial resistance.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2020

This study investigated the probability of foodborne illness caused by raw oyster consumption contaminated with high risk Vibrio species such as V. vulnificus and V. cholerae. Eighty-eight raw oyster samples were collected from the south coast, west coast and Seoul areas, and examined for the prevalence of high risk Vibrio species. The growth patterns of V. vulnificus and V. cholerae in raw oysters were evaluated, and consumption frequency and amounts for raw oyster were investigated from a Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. With the collected data, a risk assessment simulation was conducted to estimate the probability of foodborne illness caused by intake of raw oysters, using @RISK. Of 88 raw oysters, there were no V. vulnificus- or V. cholerae-positive samples. Thus, initial contamination levels of Vibrio species in raw oysters were estimated by the statistical methods developed by Vose and Sanaa, and the estimated value for the both Vibrio spp. was -3.6 Log CFU/g. In raw oyster, cell counts of V. vulnificus and V. cholerae remained unchanged. The incidence of raw oyster consumers was 0.35%, and the appropriate probabilistic distribution for the consumption amounts was the exponential distribution. A risk assessment simulation model was developed with the collected data, and the probability of the foodborne illness caused by the consumption of raw oyster was 9.08×10^-15 for V. vulnificus and 8.16×10^-13 for V. cholerae. Consumption frequency was the first factor, influencing the probability of foodborne illness.