Isolation, identification and the presence of enterotoxin A gene in Staphylococcus aureus from meat products

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the main causes of food-born illnesses. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of S. aureus in meat products and to detect the presence of S. aureus enterotoxin A (SEA) gene. Totally 150 meat products were collected and analyzed using standard culture techniques to detect S. aureus. PCR assay by specific primers was performed on the isolates to identify SEA gene. According to the results, 19 (12.6%) of the samples were found positive for S. aureus. Highest prevalence rate was determined in smoked fish (30%), followed by fried morsels (16.6%), Salami and Ham (13.3%), and Shensel chicken (3.3%). S. aureus was not observed in any of Sausage samples. Statistical analysis showed that there is statistically significance association between the prevalence of S. aureus and meat products. Moreover, results did not show SEA gene in any of the isolates. This study concluded a remarkable occurrence of S. aureus in meat products.