tailieunhanh - Enterotoxigenic staphylococcus aureus in raw milk in the North of Palestine

Enterotoxin genes (sea-see) in Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from milk of clinically healthy sheep and cows in the north of Palestine were determined using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). | Turk J Biol 29 (2005) 229-232 © TÜB‹TAK Enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in Raw Milk in the North of Palestine 1 2 1 Ghaleb ADWAN , Bassam ABU-SHANAB , Kamel ADWAN 1 Department of Biology and Biotechnology, An-Najah N. University, P. O. Box (7)-Nablus, PALESTINE 2 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, An-Najah N. University, Nablus, PALESTINE Received: Abstract: Enterotoxin genes (sea-see) in Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from milk of clinically healthy sheep and cows in the north of Palestine were determined using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Thirty-seven (37%) out of 100 S. aureus isolates were toxin gene positive. Four strains () were sea-positive, 20 () were seb-positive, 4 () were sec-positive, 6 () were sed-positive and 3 () were see-positive. None of these enterotoxigenic isolates carried more than one toxin gene. This study indicates that the presence of enterotoxigenic S. aureus in raw milk can contribute to the sources of staphylococcal food poisoning in Palestine. Key Words: Enterotoxigenic S. aureus, staphylococcal enterotoxins, SEs, raw milk, Palestine Introduction Materials and Methods Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common agents in bacterial food poisoning outbreaks. It is also a major causative pathogen of clinical or subclinical mastitis of dairy domestic ruminants. Poultry, meat and egg products as well as milk and milk products have been reported as common foods that may cause staphylococcal food poisoning (1). S. aureus strains produce a spectrum of protein toxins and virulence factors thought to contribute to the pathogenicity of this organism. The staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) have been classified into many different types. These enterotoxins are heat-stable and resistant to the action of digestive enzymes (2). The most common types of these enterotoxins are SEA to SEE. Isolates carrying toxin genes sea to see are responsible for 95% of staphylococcal food poisoning .