{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T17:59:04Z","timestamp":1781200744500,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781136000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Cheese, a widely consumed dairy product, can be contaminated with\n                    <jats:italic>Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)<\/jats:italic>\n                    , a pathogen capable of producing toxins harmful to humans. Of particular concern is Methicillin-Resistant\n                    <jats:italic>S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n                    (MRSA), which harbors antimicrobial resistance genes and secretes super-antigenic toxins. Present investigation aimed at determining the occurrence and characterizing MRSA in commercial cheese, to evaluate its potential public health risks. 120 cheese samples representing twelve commercial brands were collected in ten different batches over a six-month period in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The quality of the cheeses was evaluated and compared against the standards of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), European Union (EU), and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The occurrence of MRSA and its virulence factors were determined using standard microbiological and molecular techniques. Results revealed that 65% samples were positive for\n                    <jats:italic>S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n                    , with staphylococcal load surpassing safety thresholds according to the above-mentioned standards. MRSA was detected in 30% of the samples, exhibiting resistance to multiple antibiotics. All the isolates showed resistance against penicillin, tetracycline, doxycycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and azithromycin, whereas ceftaroline, norfloxacin, and levofloxacin exhibited intermediate level of sensitivity. Enterotoxin genes\n                    <jats:italic>SEa<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>SEc<\/jats:italic>\n                    were prevalent in 16.67% and 8.97% of isolates, respectively, while\n                    <jats:italic>TSST-1<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene was identified in 25.64% among the exfoliative toxin genes. Notably, 85.90% and 80.77% of the isolates exhibited biofilm formation based on the Congo Red and microtiter plate techniques, respectively, with significant percentages of biofilm associated regulatory genes\n                    <jats:italic>icaA<\/jats:italic>\n                    (73.08%),\n                    <jats:italic>icaD<\/jats:italic>\n                    (53.85%),\n                    <jats:italic>clfA<\/jats:italic>\n                    (78.21%)\n                    <jats:italic>, clfB<\/jats:italic>\n                    (61.54%)\n                    <jats:italic>,<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>fnbA<\/jats:italic>\n                    (69.23%). The substantial prevalence of\n                    <jats:italic>bla<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sub>\n                      <jats:italic>CTX-M-2a<\/jats:italic>\n                    <\/jats:sub>\n                    (88.46%) and\n                    <jats:italic>bla<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sub>\n                      <jats:italic>TEM<\/jats:italic>\n                    <\/jats:sub>\n                    (25.64%) highlights the significant public health risks associated with MRSA contamination in cheese. The high occurrence of\n                    <jats:italic>S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n                    and the detection of multiple toxin-encoding genes further emphasize the need for strengthened monitoring and stricter control measures across the production and distribution chain to reduce contamination and ensure product safety.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0350222","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T17:22:17Z","timestamp":1781198537000},"page":"e0350222","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Virulence determinants and toxin profile of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus from commercial cheese in Bangladesh: A public health risk"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Muhammad Tafazzal","family":"Hossain","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9843-7033","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Fahmida Jahan","family":"Fahim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sohel","family":"Rana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nadia","family":"Sultana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Md. Sodor","family":"Uddin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Md Nazim","family":"Uddin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monira","family":"Noor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8384-1854","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Amina","family":"Khatun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kazi Mohammad Ali","family":"Zinnah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anzuman","family":"Ara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4000-616X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ferdaus Mohd Altaf","family":"Hossain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0350222.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.1186\/s12866-024-03288-3","article-title":"Occurrence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and resistance genes of Staphylococcus aureus in milk and milk products in the Arsi highlands of Ethiopia","volume":"24","author":"A Deddefo","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Microbiol"},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0350222.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1106","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines12101106","article-title":"Immune responses to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections and advances in the development of vaccines and immunotherapies","volume":"12","author":"J Scully","year":"2024","journal-title":"Vaccines (Basel)"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0350222.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"240","DOI":"10.1016\/S0377-1237(09)80013-0","article-title":"Food poisoning outbreak in a military establishment","volume":"65","author":"MS Mustafa","year":"2009","journal-title":"Med J Armed Forces India"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0350222.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"156","DOI":"10.1089\/fpd.2015.2038","article-title":"Prevalence, molecular characterization, and antimicrobial susceptibility of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk and dairy products","volume":"13","author":"MA Al-Ashmawy","year":"2016","journal-title":"Foodborne Pathog Dis"},{"key":"pone.0350222.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1016\/S0168-1605(01)00479-2","article-title":"Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxins in raw pork and uncooked smoked ham--a comparison of classical culturing detection and RFLP-PCR","volume":"68","author":"V Atanassova","year":"2001","journal-title":"Int J Food Microbiol"},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0350222.ref006","first-page":"569","article-title":"Hygiene and safety of hard cheese made from raw cows\u2019 milk","volume":"9","author":"I Sakaridis","year":"2022","journal-title":"Vet Sci"},{"key":"pone.0350222.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.5772\/48175","article-title":"Staphylococcus aureus: characterisation and quantitative growth description in milk and artisanal raw milk cheese production","volume-title":"Structure and Function of Food Engineering","author":"A Medveov","year":"2012"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0350222.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"154","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fm.2012.03.013","article-title":"Survey of raw milk cheeses for microbiological quality and prevalence of foodborne pathogens","volume":"31","author":"JC Brooks","year":"2012","journal-title":"Food 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Liu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Antibiotics (Basel)"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0350222.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"779","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms13040779","article-title":"Antibiotic use in livestock farming: a driver of multidrug resistance?","volume":"13","author":"A Matheou","year":"2025","journal-title":"Microorganisms"},{"key":"pone.0350222.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"408","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetmic.2008.05.011","article-title":"PCR detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin genes in Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from raw and pasteurized milk","volume":"132","author":"VLM Rall","year":"2008","journal-title":"Vet Microbiol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0350222.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"178","DOI":"10.3390\/toxins11030178","article-title":"Staphylococcal superantigens: pyrogenic toxins induce toxic shock","volume":"11","author":"T Krakauer","year":"2019","journal-title":"Toxins (Basel)"},{"issue":"7","key":"pone.0350222.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1751","DOI":"10.3390\/toxins2071751","article-title":"Food poisoning and Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins","volume":"2","author":"M\u00c1 Argud\u00edn","year":"2010","journal-title":"Toxins (Basel)"},{"key":"pone.0350222.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"827965","DOI":"10.1155\/2014\/827965","article-title":"Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal food-borne disease: an ongoing challenge in public health","volume":"2014","author":"J Kadariya","year":"2014","journal-title":"Biomed Res Int"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0350222.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2930","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.07487-11","article-title":"Genotypes, exotoxin gene content, and antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus strains recovered from foods and food handlers","volume":"78","author":"MA Argud\u00edn","year":"2012","journal-title":"Appl Environ 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Oliveira","year":"2016","journal-title":"Zoonoses Public Health"},{"key":"pone.0350222.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2191532","DOI":"10.1155\/2017\/2191532","article-title":"Detection of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and determination of minimum inhibitory concentration of vancomycin for Staphylococcus aureus isolated from pus\/wound swab samples of the patients attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal","volume":"2017","author":"R Adhikari","year":"2017","journal-title":"Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0350222.ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9240059","DOI":"10.26599\/FSAP.2024.9240059","article-title":"Molecular characterization of biofilm producing Escherichia coli isolated from beef value chain in Bangladesh","volume":"2","author":"S Rana","year":"2024","journal-title":"Food Sci Anim 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(Basel)"},{"key":"pone.0350222.ref029","article-title":"Detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus within raw milk and cheese samples","author":"J Nusrat","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int Food Res J"},{"issue":"7","key":"pone.0350222.ref030","first-page":"55","article-title":"Microbial analysis and health risk of Listeria spps and S. aureus isolated from cheese and raw milk marketed in Lahore, Pakistan","volume":"17","author":"N Zahra","year":"2025","journal-title":"Life Sci J"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0350222.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s40550-022-00094-5","article-title":"Prevalence and molecular characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus in raw milk and milk products in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"9","author":"A Deddefo","year":"2022","journal-title":"FoodContamination"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0350222.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2713","DOI":"10.14202\/vetworld.2020.2713-2727","article-title":"Antimicrobial resistance situation in animal health of Bangladesh","volume":"13","author":"M Al Amin","year":"2020","journal-title":"Vet World"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0350222.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2025.e42107","article-title":"Prevalence, antibiotic resistance patterns, and virulence factors of Staphylococcus aureus isolates associated with bovine mastitis in northern Bangladesh","volume":"11","author":"MM Islam","year":"2025","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"issue":"11","key":"pone.0350222.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.56093\/ijans.v89i11.95857","article-title":"Antibiotic resistance gene typing in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis","volume":"89","author":"M Mushtaq","year":"2019","journal-title":"Indian 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Bangladesh","volume":"11","author":"FM Ballah","year":"2022","journal-title":"Biology (Basel)"}],"container-title":["PLOS 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