Identification of Enterotoxin Genes in Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Bovine and Caprine Milk

Abstract

Among the main microorganisms responsible for bovine, ovine and caprine mastitis, Staphylococcus aureus is important, not only with respect to the animal disease, but also because of its potential impact on public health and food safety. In fact, some Staphylococcus aureus strains can produce enterotoxins which could cause food poisoning through consumption of milk or dairy products, particularly cheeses manufactured with raw milk. Inasmuch as milk of infected animals is considered the main source of enterotoxigenic S. aureus of animal origin, the importance of an efficient screening process for the presence of enterotoxigenic strains is required. The aim of this study was to develop an assay using a multiplex PCR technique to verify the presence of genes encoding for classical (from A to D) and recently described (G, H, I, J, L) staphylococcal enterotoxins in Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine and caprine milk.