Analysis of the Frequency, Antibiotic Susceptibility, and Related Genes among Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria Isolated from Hospital Refrigerators in Tehran, Iran

Elham  Soltanzadeh; Hedayat Hosseini  Hosseini; Mohammadali  Boroumand; Abbasali  Motallebi

doi:10.18502/ijph.v53i3.15150

Elham Soltanzadeh Department of Hygiene, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Hedayat Hosseini Hosseini Department of Food Industry, School of Nutrition Sciences & Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohammadali Boroumand Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abbasali Motallebi Department of Hygiene, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v53i3.15150

Keywords: Foodborne diseases; Antibiotic resistance; Hospital refrigerators; Food safety

Abstract

Background: Hospital refrigerators as essential food storage can be important source of food contamination. We aimed to investigate the frequency and antibiotic susceptibility of the pathogenic bacteria in three hospital refrigerators in Tehran.

Methods: This study was performed on 254 samples, collected from 60 refrigerators of the various wards of three hospitals, A, B, and C, in Tehran, Iran from 2020 to 2021. Following isolation and identification of isolates, the antibiotic susceptibility pattern was determined. PCR-based assays were used to screen the presence of antibiotic resistance genes of resistant isolates.

Results: From 254 collected samples, 236 samples (92.9%) were contaminated. Most strains were isolated from refrigerators with poorly cleaned, temperatures above 8 °C in non-critical wards. Most bacteria belonging to Enterobacteriaceae (68.8%), followed by Staphylococcus (11.9%), and Enterococcus (10.6%), while the frequency of non-Enterobacteriaceae isolates was 8.9%. The highest antibiotic resistant bacteria were in extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) 9.7%, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) 5.3%, methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) 0.4%, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) 0.4%, respectively. The bla_OXA-48, bla_CTX, and bcla_TEM genes were found only in 10% of Enterobacteriaceae isolates. The bla_OXA-51 gene was found in all non-Enterobacteriaceae isolates. The vanA and mecA genes were detected in antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus and Staphylococcus.

Conclusion: Our findings suggests major concern about cross-contamination and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant isolates as a potential health threat with hospital refrigerators origin. More attention to hospital refrigerators cleaning is necessary to prevent foodborne diseases and nosocomial infections.