en تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong>Background: </strong>Among the bacteria that cause food poisoning, <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> is one of the most common causes of food poisoning worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of <em>S. aureus</em> strains in Iranian hamburgers, analysis of their antibiotic resistance pattern, and molecular detection of <em>mec</em>A gene in isolated strains.<br> <strong>Methods:</strong> A total of 100 Iranian handmade (traditional) and packaged (factory-made) hamburger samples were investigated for the existence of <em>S. aureus</em>. The pattern of antibiotic resistance and the presence of <em>mec</em>A genes were investigated by disk diffusion and molecular methods, respectively. Data were statistically analyzed by SPSS software v. 24.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> The prevalence of <em>S. aureus</em> isolated in handmade hamburgers was significantly (<em>p</em>=0.008) higher than packaged ones. Most of 39 isolated <em>S. aureus&nbsp;</em>strains were susceptible to ciprofloxacin (31 isolate), chloramphenicol (27 isolate), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (37 isolate). The highest antibiotic resistance was observed for penicillin G followed by oxacillin and tetracycline. All isolates were found susceptible to vancomycin and gentamicin. Six <em>S. aureus</em> isolates which were evaluated for methicillin<span dir="RTL">-</span>resistance,&nbsp;contained the <em>mec</em>A gene.<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The high presence of the <em>S. aureus</em> in Iranian hamburgers and the remarkable antibiotic resistance emphasize the need for policies which enforce hygienic practices within the food industry and fast food outlets.<br> <br> <strong>DOI:</strong> 10.18502/jfqhc.7.4.4847</span></span></div> Drug Resistance, Microbial, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Meat Products, Iran 188 195 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-152-12&slc_lang=en&sid=1 N. Momtaz Bokharaei 0000-0002-3500-711X No Division of Food Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran M.M. Soltan Dallal soltanda@sina.tums.ac.ir 0000-0002-3421-3974 Yes Division of Food Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran M.R. Pourmand No Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran Z. Rajabi No Food Microbiology Research Centre, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran