Abstract

Antiseptic and disinfectants are used very frequently in all health institutions, including hospital and veterinary application areas, in the home environment and food production industry, to prevent infections and contaminations. At present, the quaternary ammonium compounds, benzalkonium chloride and chlorhexidine digluconate is one of the divalent cations most commonly used chemicals such as antiseptics and disinfectants. However, the widespread use of biocides has brought about the emergence of bacteria resistant to antiseptics/disinfectants. It is known that bacteria develop resistance mechanisms against antibiotics as well as disinfectants. Epidemiological data on antiseptic susceptibility and distribution of resistance genes are very important for nosocomial infections. Some species, including the species belong to genus Staphylococcus, cause foodborne poisoning and various clinical infections such as skin and soft tissue and surgical site infections, endocarditis, mastitis, pneumonia and bacteremia in humans and animals. Staphylococcus strains can contain plasmid-derived qacA/B and qacC genes that provide resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC). In this study, the presence of antiseptic resistance genes (qacA/B and qacC) in 90 Staphylococcus spp. strains isolated from chicken carcass, bovine tank milk, various cheeses and bovine clinical mastitis samples were determined by simplex polymerase chain reaction. QacA/B was found in %18.8 and qacC in %2.2 of the studied isolates. Of antiseptic resistance genes, qacA/B was detected in cheese and bovine clinical mastitis samples, and qacC in chicken carcass.