OCCURRENCE OF STAPHYLOCOCCI IN MILK AND SOME MILK PRODUCTS

Document Type : Research article

Authors

Abstract

A sum of 110 random samples of raw milk and some milk products, including raw milk, Damietta cheese, kareish cheese and ice-cream, were collected from Assiut City markets, groceries and dairy farms. The samples were examined for staphylococci and the isoalted S. aureus strains were tested for production of enterotoxins A and Cz. S. aureus could be isolated from 60, 23.3, 27.5 and 20% of the examined samples with an average count of 1x10%, 9x10*, 5x104 and 1x104 S. aureus/ml or G.respectively. While, Staph. epi dermidis and micrococci could be isolated from the examined samples except ice-cream. All of the tested S. aureus strains failed to produce enterotoxins A and Cz. The public health hazard and the suggestive measures were discussed.