ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
This article is part of the Research TopicAntimicrobial Resistance: Tracking and Tackling in the Food ChainView all 10 articles
Antimicrobial resistance and genomic characterization of Staphylococcus aureus in ready-to-eat foods from Mangaung Metro Municipality
Provisionally accepted
- 1Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein, South Africa
- 2Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- 3North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Human staphylococcal food poisoning is caused by a range of heat-stable staphylococcal enterotoxins that are released into food by Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, antimicrobial resistance has steadily grown into a significant global issue that endangers food safety and human health. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the frequency of S. aureus in foods sold on the streets of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa, and thoroughly examine the isolated strains' genetic traits, virulence, and antibiotic resistance profiles. Out of 168 samples, which included salad, pap (maize meal), chicken, and pork, all (100%) samples showed the occurrence of Staphylococcus species. Furthermore, 29.7% of isolates were subsequently identified by MALDI-TOF MS as S. aureus. Moreover, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 50 S. aureus isolates showed that 42% were resistant to penicillin, followed by cefoxitin at 46% and ciprofloxacin at 44%. The multidrug-resistant (MDR) profile revealed that 52% of the isolates were resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics. Additionally, four sequenced isolates were identified by in silico MLST as having sequence types (STs) 243, although strain SVF3 contained a unique ST designated as * ff2b. All four isolates were identified This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article as belonging to Staphylococcal Protein A type (spa-type) t21 by whole genome sequencing. All sequenced isolates exhibited a total of 9 antibiotic resistance genes and 63 virulence genes. The current study showed the importance of monitoring for high virulence potential and antimicrobial resistance of S. aureus in retail food and increasing awareness of potential risk for such strains; furthermore, infection control measures, antimicrobial stewardship, and periodic One Health epidemiological surveillance studies are needed to monitor and contain the threat of increasing antibiotic resistance in Africa.
Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus1, WGS2, antibiotic resistance3, Ready-to-eat Food4, Virulence Factors
Received: 21 Jul 2025; Accepted: 19 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Letuka, Nkhebenyane, Ramatla, Tywabi, Khaugelo and Khasapane. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ntelekwane Khasapane, nkhasapane@cut.ac.za
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