%0 Journal Article %A Abri, Ramin %A lotfipour, farzaneh %A Asghari, Roghayeh %A Ahangarzadeh Rezaee, Mohammad %T High Occurrence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Unpacked Ice Creams %J Infection Epidemiology and Microbiology %V 5 %N 2 %U http://iem.modares.ac.ir/article-4-31914-en.html %R %D 2019 %K Staphylococcus aureus, Drug resistance, Ice cream, Foodborne diseases, Iran, %X Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of Staphylococcus aureus strains, as one of the important foodborne pathogens, isolated from unpacked ice creams. Materials & Methods: A total of 122 unpacked ice cream samples were randomly collected from different localities in East Azerbaijan province and transferred to the laboratory using a cool box and screened for the presence of S. aureus strains. Also, the isolates resistance to antibiotics was determined by disk diffusion method. Findings: In total, 21.3% of the ice creams samples were contaminated with S. aureus strains. Furthermore, antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that the highest resistance was against penicillin and erythromycin, whereas the highest susceptibility was observed against gentamicin and rifampin. A warning issue was the significant resistance to vancomycin. Conclusions: The relative high isolation and antimicrobial resistance rates detected in S. aureus strains isolated from unpacked ice creams underline the necessity for applying strict standards at all processing steps by food control agencies and emphasize the need for educational efforts for those personnel involved in products preparation procedures in order to promote food hygiene. It is worth noting that the emergence of resistance to vancomycin, as the last line of treatment for staphylococcal infections, is a worrying global health concern. Moreover, this study highlighted that poor adherence to personal hygiene and health principles during the food products preparation and/or storage could be a potential factor in the spread of pathogenic bacteria and resistance genes in the community. %> http://iem.modares.ac.ir/article-4-31914-en.pdf %P 25-31 %& 25 %! Staphylococcus aureus in unpacked ice creams %9 %L A-10-47334-1 %+ Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. %G eng %@ 2588-4107 %[ 2019