Isolation and Characterization of MRSA from Locally Processed Meat Hawked in Gombe, Nigeria

Abstract

Three types of locally processed meat products were collected from vendors across hawking points in Gombe town: stick meat (tsire) 30 samples, roasted meat (balangu) 30 samples, and dried meat (kilishi) 15 samples, making a total of 75 samples. Samples were taken to the Microbiology Laboratory of Gombe State University and analyzed for the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) through culturing, biochemical tests, and DNA analysis. The isolated Staphylococcus aureus were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests using standard antibiotics. The results showed that 13.33% of the total isolates were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as confirmed by the presence of mecA1, mecA2, and pvl genes by polymerase chain reaction. This is of great health importance to the public.