@article{article_368499, title={Detection of Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence Factors of Enterococcus spp. Isolated From Ready to Eat Foods}, journal={Kocatepe Veterinary Journal}, volume={10}, pages={76–82}, year={2017}, author={Gökmen, Mukadderat and Önen, Adem and Ektik, Nisanur and Kara, Recep and Torlak, Emrah and Metli, Murat}, keywords={Antibiyotik dirençlilik,Enterococcus spp.,Tüketime hazır gıda,Virülens faktörler}, abstract={In this study, we identified the prevalence of Enterococcus spp., antibiotic resistance and several virulence factors of some ready-to-eat foods. Totally 114 Enterococcus spp. were isolated in 112 (59.90 %) of the 187 food samples analysed. Enterococcus spp. isolates were obtained from 39 samples of meat products (34.80 %), 42 samples of cheese brands (37.50 %), 25 samples of salads (22.30 %) and eight samples of halva (7.10 %). According to the results of the antibiotic resistance test, the Enterococci isolates obtained were determined to show resistance to at least 4 of the antibiotics used in the study. While no gelatinase activity was observed in any of the isolates, haemolysin activity was observed to be positive in 36 of them (31.60 %). As a result, having been regarded for years as harmless and reported likely to be used as a starter culture, some Enterococcus spp. pose a risk to public health and to food safety since they have virulence factors and strong antimicrobial resistance. For this reason, the Enterococcus spp. to be used as a starter in the food industry should be chosen from among those that don’t have pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance genes.}, number={2}, publisher={Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi}