Prevalence and characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from fresh fish and ready-to-eat fish products.

摘要

To investigate the incidence and virulence properties of Staphylococcus aureus in fresh fish and ready-to-eat fish products from retail markets, total of 184 samples comprising 96 raw fish and 88 ready-to-eat (RTE) fish products were collected from Ludhiana and other parts of Punjab, and were subjected to microbiological analysis for isolation of S. aureus; 16S rRNA gene PCR assay was employed to confirm the identity of presumptive isolates. To assess virulence of these isolates they were subjected to various tests viz. haemolysis on sheep blood agar (SBA), coagulase production. In order to assess potential of the isolates for enterotoxin production, sea targeted PCR was performed. Nineteen (19.79%) of eaw fish samples and 26 (29.54%) of RTE fish products were found to harbour S. aureus with an overall incidence of 24.45% for S. aureus. PCR assay characterization of these isolates using sea gene primer revealed that 19 (42.22%) of 45 S. aureus isolates possessed sea gene indicating enteroxic potential. Of these, 14 (31.11%) were from raw fish samples and 5 (11.11%) from RTE fish products. The results of the present study high-lighted the virulence potential of isolates from fish and fish products in the region and indicating possible risks to their consumer that demand necessary action to address this public health concern.