Staphylococcus aureus Enterotoxin A Gene Isolated From Raw Red Meat and Poultry in Tehran, Iran

Staphylococcus aureus is the most prevalent infectious agent of food materials. enterotoxin producing types of s. aureus cause well-known food-borne disease. staphylococcal enterotoxin a (sea) is the most important agent of gastroenteritis. the present study aimed to screen the raw meat samples collected from different regions of tehran for s. aureus infection and type of encoding enterotoxin. hundred and eighty six meat samples were collected randomly from city dealers and transferred to laboratory within screw cap containers. the samples were first cultured according to the standard bacteriological methods and then s. aureus isolates were identified using standard bacteriological tests. the isolates were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (pcr) to detect gene encoding sea. staphylococcus aureus isolated from 29 (15.6%) meat samples including beef 14.8%, raw lamb 15%, raw chicken 15.7% and raw turkey 16.6%. using special primer sets proved that the species isolated from five samples (two raw chicken, two raw beef and one raw turkey) encoded enterotoxin a. although staphylococcal contamination within food material is more or less a routine, but detection of enterotoxin encoding species from raw meat samples is alarming for health authorities. these data highlight the importance of periodic surveillance of raw meat distributed among ordinary consumers.