Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and enterotoxin gene profiles of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from mobile phones of the food vendors in Phayao province, Thailand

Abstract

Abstract Background Mobile phones are widely used and may cause bacterial pathogens to spread among various professionals. S. aureus from the hands of food vendors can contaminate food through their mobile phones during the cooking or packaging process. This research aimed to determine the prevalence, enterotoxin genes, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of S. aureus contaminating the vendors’ mobile phones. Methods In this study, 266 mobile phone samples were randomly collected from food vendors selling food on walking streets (n = 139) and in food centers (n = 127) in Phayao province. All samples were identified S. aureus by the conventional culture method and confirmed species-specific gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Then, all identified S. aureus were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by broth microdilution method and staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes by PCR. Results The results showed that 12.8% of the mobile phones collected from walking streets (11.5%) and food centers (14.5%) were contaminated with S. aureus. Of 49 S. aureus isolates, 30 (61.2%) were positive for SE genes, detected in both settings. The most common SE gene was sea followed by sec, seb, sem, seq, and sel. Moreover, S. aureus was most frequently resistant to penicillin, followed by chloramphenicol and tetracycline, erythromycin, clindamycin, and gentamicin. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA), and multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains were also detected. Conclusions This study showed that mobile phones were an intermediate surface for the colonization of S. aureus, including multidrug resistance (MDR) variants. It indicates that hand hygiene and the decontamination of mobile phones are essential to prevent cross-contamination of S. aureus in food.