PREVALENCE AND CHRACTERIZATION OF STAPHYLOCOCUS AUREUS FROM MARKET MILK

This study designed to check the prevalence and to characterize Staphylococcus aureus isolates from market milk. The total number of 20 marketed milk samples were randomly collected from different locations of Hyderabad district of Sindh, Pakistan. The S. aureus were isolated on Mannitol Salt agar, among the presumptive S.aureus isolates an overall 15 milk samples observed contaminated with S. aureus showing a prevalence rate of 75%. For genotypic characterization, DNA extracted from the isolates and all the isolates identified by species, specific primers targeting 16S rRNA that showed 750bp PCR amplified product. Antibiogram profile showed susceptibilities of the isolates against five antibiotics using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The antibiotic ciprofloxacin showed higher susceptibility rate followed by norfloxacin, tetracycline, oxyetracycline and ampicillin.