Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2019) 8(4): 1929-1939 1929 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.804.226 Methicillin-Susceptible and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from the Retail Meat Shops and Customers Asima Zehra*, Maliha Gulzar, Randhir Singh and Simranpreet Kaur 1 School of Public Health and Zoonoses, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana-141004, Punjab, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Antibiotic resistance and its exchange to different microorganisms are turning into a rising and serious pattern in developing countries like India. Community related sources are one such source that are imperative in harboring and dissemination of drug resistant microorganisms like S. aureus. S. aureus is universal in nature and ordinarily present on the skin and mucous membrane of animal and human, in soil and water (Irlinger 2008). It is likewise an imperative food-borne pathogen (Morgan 2008). In spite of the fact International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 04 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com This study was completed to know the prevalence of Methicillin-Susceptible (MSSA) and Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in swab samples from retail meat shops (RM) and customers (CU) in five districts of Punjab, India. An aggregate of 182 swabs samples was aseptically collected from RM shops and customers. The collected samples were processed for an isolation of S. aureus isolates. The phenotypic resistance of S. aureus isolates was most noteworthy to Penicillin (PEN, 97.83%) trailed by Ciprofloxacin (CPH, 56.52%), Tetracycline (TET, 36.96%), Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (TSH, 34.78%) and Erythromycin (ERY, 17.39%). However, low resistance was observed to Clindamycin, Chloramphenicol, Oxacillin, Ceftriaxone, and that fluctuated from 2%-7%. None of the isolates was phenotypically resistant to vancomycin (MIC 0.5-2 μg/ml). A large portion of S. aureus isolates (58.69%, 95% CI 43.63-61.93) were Multi-drug resistant (MDR) and carried resistant genes to penicillin (blaZ), oxacillin (mecA), gentamicin (aacA-aphD), erythromycin (ermB, ermC) and tetracycline (tetK, tetM). Two S. aureus isolates were borderline oxacillin resistant (BORSA) with MIC 4 μg/ml and one isolate was MRSA (Oxacillin MIC 16 μg/ml) with a genotypic profile, mecA + blaZ + aacA-aphD + tetK + ermC + . Among the erythromycin-resistant or intermediate resistant isolates, none expressed inducible macrolide lincosamide and streptogramin (MLS B ) phenotype (ERY+/CLI-, D+) except for one MSSA isolates from CU hand swab sample that demonstrated a constitutive MLS B phenotype (Erm+/Cli+, D-). Keywords Staphylococcus aureus, Multidrug resistance, Epsilometer test, MRSA, BORSA, Swab Accepted: 15 March 2019 Available Online: 10 April 2019 Article Info