PROFILE RESISTANCE OF POSITIVE COAGULASE Staphylococcus STRAINS ISOLATED FROM FOOD HANDLERS

Abstract

In this study, it was investigated the occurrence of positive coagulase Staphylococcus (SPC) strains on the hands of food handlers. The samples were collected from the hands of 100 food handlers that work in a food industry located in the state of Ceará (Brazil). The samples were streaked on plates of Baird–Parker agar. From each plate, typical colonies of Staphylococcus with similar morphologies were picked out and identified by morphologic and biochemical tests. The isolates were tested for antibiotic susceptibility by agar diffusion test. Results indicated Staphylococcus positive coagulase (SPC) presence in 24% of personnel, being 79,17% of the women. The isolates were resistant to ampicillin and penicillin (89% and 86,6%, respectively) and were sensitive to sulfazotrim (100%), nitrofurantoin (98.8%), vancomicyn (97.6%), chloranphenicol (96,3%) and ofloxacin (90,3%). The resistant to ampicilin was observed in 76% of the isolates were multidrug-resistant and one strain was resistant to eight antibiotics. This high occurrence of multiple resistances represents a potential risk for public health and can make difficult to treat human and animal diseases, aggravating potentially curable clinical pictures.