Microbiological Quality and Antimicrobial Resistance of Staphylococcus aureus in Raw Chapli Kebab, Kabul, Afghanistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62810/jnsr.v4i2.445Keywords:
Aerobic plate count, Antimicrobial resistance, Biochemical techniques Foodborne, Staphylococcus aureusAbstract
Foodborne illnesses remain a serious global health concern, especially in developing countries with inadequate food safety laws. In Kabul, chapli kebab, a traditional minced beef dish, is widely consumed. Staphylococcus aureus is a common foodborne pathogen associated with meat and meat products and can produce heat-stable enterotoxins that remain active after cooking. This study aimed to evaluate the microbiological quality of raw Chapli kebab meat and the antimicrobial resistance profile of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from it in local restaurants in Kabul City. Forty samples from two districts were analyzed for S. aureus presence and aerobic plate counts (APC) using standard microbiological and biochemical techniques. The confirmed isolates (20%) were tested against 12 commonly used antibiotics using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method. The average APC for District 1 and District 3 was 7.93 log 10 CFU/g and 7.64 log 10 CFU/g, respectively, and the difference was significant (p < 0.001). Tetracycline resistance (87.5%), penicillin resistance (75%), and multidrug resistance (MDR) to 8 antibiotic classes (37.5%) were all high among the isolates. These findings indicate that Chapli kebab meat harbors S. aureus with multidrug antimicrobial resistance and poor microbiological quality. There is an urgent need to improve the quality.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mohammad Asif Noori, Nasir Ahmad Sarwary, Mohammad Farzad Afshar
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