Identification of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from transporters who are work in food industry in Izmir and the surrounding area; grouping as epidemiologically and phylogenetically

Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterium found on the skin and nasal passages of healthy people. The spread of food borne diseases via food handlers is a common and persistent problem all over the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage among the food industry workers in Izmir, and to investigate phenotypic and molecular typing of these isolates. All of S. aureus strains isolated from food industry workers' nostril. Characterization and molecular typing of the strains was performed by phenotypic tests, antibiotic sensitivity test, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Among the 1358 people investigated, 64 (4.71%) nasal carriage were found to be positive for S. aureus. Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) represented 14.06% of the isolates. PFGE analysis of all S. aureus strains revealed 13 pulsotypes with 80% cutoff similarity. MLST typing of 9 Community associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) strains showed 7 different sequence types (ST6, ST12, ST15, ST97, ST188, ST737, and ST837). In Turkey, there are limited data on the molecular typing of MRSA obtained from food industry workers. This study is extremely important because it provides information to the geographic distribution of strains. As new records are released in Turkey, the distribution table of these organisms will be clearer.