Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia

The outbreak of food poisoning due to Staphylococcus aureus has been reported with a significant level of morbidity worldwide. In this study, 128 samples taken from nasal swabs of 64 food handlers and 64 food items were collected and analyzed for the presence of S. aureus. The antibiotic susceptibil...

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Main Authors: Abdul Mutalib, Noor Azira, Abdul-Rashid, Mohammad-Faid, Mustafa, Shuhaimi, Amin Nordin, Syafinaz, Hamat, Rukman Awang, Osman, Malina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2012
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18782/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18782/1/76.%20Staphylococcus%20aureus%20in%20Food%20and%20Nares%20of%20Food%20Handlers%20in.pdf
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author Abdul Mutalib, Noor Azira
Abdul-Rashid, Mohammad-Faid
Mustafa, Shuhaimi
Amin Nordin, Syafinaz
Hamat, Rukman Awang
Osman, Malina
author_facet Abdul Mutalib, Noor Azira
Abdul-Rashid, Mohammad-Faid
Mustafa, Shuhaimi
Amin Nordin, Syafinaz
Hamat, Rukman Awang
Osman, Malina
author_sort Abdul Mutalib, Noor Azira
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The outbreak of food poisoning due to Staphylococcus aureus has been reported with a significant level of morbidity worldwide. In this study, 128 samples taken from nasal swabs of 64 food handlers and 64 food items were collected and analyzed for the presence of S. aureus. The antibiotic susceptibility profiles of the isolates were also determined. Cross-sectional was used as a study design in this research. The isolates were identified as S. aureus based on colonial morphology, gram stain, mannitol salt agar fermentation, catalase and coagulase test. Fifteen (23.4%) of food handlers were positive for S. aureus nasal carriage and 24 (37.5%) of food items were contaminated with an average of 8.4 x 106 CFU/g of S. aureus. All isolates were susceptible to oxacillin and mupirocin respectively. However, 74.4% and 5.1% isolates were resistant to penicillin and erythromycin. Our findings suggest that the prevalence of S. aureus carriage is high among our food handlers and food items. Thus, we believed that there is a need for proper training on food safety among food handlers and quality improvement in the food premises.
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spelling upm-187822015-11-24T04:08:10Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18782/ Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia Abdul Mutalib, Noor Azira Abdul-Rashid, Mohammad-Faid Mustafa, Shuhaimi Amin Nordin, Syafinaz Hamat, Rukman Awang Osman, Malina The outbreak of food poisoning due to Staphylococcus aureus has been reported with a significant level of morbidity worldwide. In this study, 128 samples taken from nasal swabs of 64 food handlers and 64 food items were collected and analyzed for the presence of S. aureus. The antibiotic susceptibility profiles of the isolates were also determined. Cross-sectional was used as a study design in this research. The isolates were identified as S. aureus based on colonial morphology, gram stain, mannitol salt agar fermentation, catalase and coagulase test. Fifteen (23.4%) of food handlers were positive for S. aureus nasal carriage and 24 (37.5%) of food items were contaminated with an average of 8.4 x 106 CFU/g of S. aureus. All isolates were susceptible to oxacillin and mupirocin respectively. However, 74.4% and 5.1% isolates were resistant to penicillin and erythromycin. Our findings suggest that the prevalence of S. aureus carriage is high among our food handlers and food items. Thus, we believed that there is a need for proper training on food safety among food handlers and quality improvement in the food premises. Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2012 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18782/1/76.%20Staphylococcus%20aureus%20in%20Food%20and%20Nares%20of%20Food%20Handlers%20in.pdf Abdul Mutalib, Noor Azira and Abdul-Rashid, Mohammad-Faid and Mustafa, Shuhaimi and Amin Nordin, Syafinaz and Hamat, Rukman Awang and Osman, Malina (2012) Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia. Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, 35 (4). pp. 853-862. ISSN 1511-3701; ESSN: 2231-8542 http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/Pertanika%20PAPERS/JTAS%20Vol.%2035%20(4)%20Nov.%202012/15%20Page%20853-862.pdf
spellingShingle Abdul Mutalib, Noor Azira
Abdul-Rashid, Mohammad-Faid
Mustafa, Shuhaimi
Amin Nordin, Syafinaz
Hamat, Rukman Awang
Osman, Malina
Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia
title Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia
title_full Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia
title_fullStr Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia
title_short Staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia
title_sort staphylococcus aureus in food and nares of food handlers in kuala pilah, malaysia
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18782/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18782/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18782/1/76.%20Staphylococcus%20aureus%20in%20Food%20and%20Nares%20of%20Food%20Handlers%20in.pdf