DISTRIBUTION AND RESISTANCE OF Enterococcus SPP. ON VEGETABLE SURFACE

Due to the fecal origin of several Enterococcus species, the genus has been used as an indicator of contamination in the management of food quality standards. Some of these species are potentially pathogenic and resistant to antimicrobials. The present study aimed to isolate Enterococcus spp. evaluate the distribution of the species and characterize the antimicrobial resistance profile. Samples were obtained from 21 types of fresh and minimally processed vegetables commercialized in Londrina - PR. For the isolation, 25 grams of the vegetable was added in 225 mL of saline, the contentes was homogenized and an aliquot seeded in the Kanamycin Esculin Azide Agar (KEA) and M17. After 24 hours of incubation at 37 ° C, 3 characteristic colonies were isolated, cultured in Brain Heart Infusion broth and submitted to phenotypic identification (Gram staining and catalase test) and genotype by means of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The susceptibility profile of the isolates was established by the disc-diffusion technique in agar with the antimicrobials Ampicillin (10 μg), Ciprofloxacin (5 μg), Chloramphenicol (30 μg), Erythromycin (15 μg), Imipenem (10 μg), Norfloxacin (10 μg), Penicillin (10 μg), Tetracycline (30 μg), Teicoplanin (30 μg) and Vancomycin (30 μg). Sixty - one samples of 21 different types of vegetables were processed among leafy, legume and root groups, with 202 colonies identified as Enterococcus sp. in KEA and M17. In the phenotypic tests 109 (54%) isolated had the presumptive characteristics for the genus, of these, 85 (42%) isolates were confirmed for the genus Enterococcus by PCR. The species identified were: 19% E. casseliflavus / flavensces, 6% E. columbae, 4% E. faecium, 4% E. munditi, 2% E. avium and 65% Enterococcus sp. A high number of antimicrobial resistant isolates were detected including Teicoplanin and Vancomycin, where 48.31% of the samples were resistant to both, demonstrating multiresistance. Of the leafy vegetables was obtained the majority of the isolates, making up 50%. Two species were identified in the same sample of 11 different plant types. Strains of different species of Enterococcus sp. can be present in several types of food of plant origin, indicating that these foods can be a reservoir of antimicrobial resistant bacteria, and can disseminate these isolates to humans through the food chain, representing a risk to human health.