Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in retail raw chicken in China

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in whole raw chickens in China. A total of 1152 whole chicken samples were collected from three types of retail markets (large supermarket, small supermarket, and farmers market) in six provinces and two national cities in China and screened for the presence of. S. aureus, then the S. aureus isolates were further examined for the presence of MRSA. The overall positive rate for S. aureus was 24.2%. S. aureus prevalence was highest in Shaanxi province (39.6%), followed by Fujian province (31.3%), then Sichuan and Guangdong provinces (26.4% in each province), Shanghai (23.6%), Beijing (19.4%), Henan province (13.9%), the lowest prevalence was found in Guangxi province (13.2%). S. aureus prevalence was significantly different among the six provinces and two national cities (P < 0.05). Among 1152 chicken samples, twenty samples (1.7%) were positive for MRSA. MRSA prevalence was highest in Shaanxi province and Sichuan province (3.5% for each), then Fujian province (2.8%), Guangdong province and Shanghai (2.1% for each); MRSA isolates were not detected from Beijing, Henan province and Guangxi province. The overall S. aureus prevalence in chickens collected from large supermarket, small supermarket, and farmers market were 26.3%, 25%, and 21.4%, respectively, but differences were not significant (P > 0.05). These findings indicate the need for identifying the factors contributing to the contamination at the farm, processing and retail level, and for the implementation of good manufacturing practice to better control the pathogen throughout poultry industry. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.