广州市白云口岸航空食品中金黄色葡萄球菌凝固酶基因分型及肠毒素基因研究

目的对2013—2015年从广州市白云口岸航空食品中分离的金黄色葡萄球菌进行基因分型研究,为食源性金黄色葡萄球菌分子溯源提供基础数据。方法以血浆凝固酶和肠毒素为目标基因,采用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)方法对9株金黄色葡萄球菌进行基因分型,其中6株为航空食品分离株,1株为配餐车间大门手拭分离株,2株为标准菌株。肠毒素基因检测包括5种传统肠毒素基因(sea、seb、sec、sed、see)和6种新型肠毒素基因(ser、seg、seh、sei、sej、sep)。结果 6株航空食品分离株的血浆凝固酶基因扩增分型结果为2个PCR型,酶切后得3种亚型;肠毒素基因检测结果显示有2株航空食品分离株含有肠毒素基因,检出率为33.3%(2/6),检出的基因为2种传统肠毒素基因(sec、sed)和4种新型肠毒素基因(ser、seg、sei、sej),均同时携带2种以上肠毒素基因。结论血浆凝固酶基因扩增分型结果显示,不同时间、不同采集地点存在相同的基因型,提示金黄色葡萄球菌存在交叉污染的可能性;航空食品分离株共检出6种肠毒素基因,提示金黄色葡萄球菌基因型多样性,应加强其他新型肠毒素基因检测。     

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine milk in Hungary

Staphylococcus aureus is a major foodborne pathogen due to its capability to produce a wide range of heat-stable enterotoxins. The primary purpose of this research was to characterize S. aureus isolates recovered from mammary quarter milk of mastitic cows and from bulk tank milk produced on Hungarian dairy farms of different sizes. Macrorestriction analysis of chromosomal DNA from S. aureus isolates was performed using the restriction enzyme SmaI followed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The prevalence rates of nine S. aureus enterotoxin genes (sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei, and sej) and of the toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 gene (tst) were determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The bulk tank milks of 14 out of 20 farms were contaminated with S. aureus at levels of up to 6.0x10(3 )CFU/ml. Farm size had no significant effect (P>0.05) on the S. aureus counts in bulk milk. The prevalence rates of penicillin resistance were 88.9% and 20.0% among the S. aureus recovered from mastitic quarter milk and bulk tank milk, respectively. After phenotypic characterization, a total of 59 S. aureus isolates were selected for genotyping. PFGE analysis revealed 22 distinct pulsotypes, including 14 main types and 8 subtypes, at a similarity level of 86%. Only one or two main types were observed on each of the farms tested, indicating a lack of genetic diversity among S. aureus isolates within farms, and there were only two pulsotypes which occurred on more than one farm. The PFGE patterns showed genetic relatedness between the S. aureus strains recovered from quarter milk and bulk milk on two large farms, implying that on farms having a high number of mastitic cows, S. aureus from infected udders may contaminate bulk milk and, subsequently, raw milk products. Sixteen (27.1%) of the S. aureus isolates tested by multiplex PCR were found to be positive for enterotoxin genes, with 15 of them carrying just one gene and one strain carrying two genes (seg and sei). The most commonly detected toxin genes were seb, sea, and sec, whereas none of our isolates possessed the see, seh, sej, or tst genes. On 75% of the dairy farms surveyed, no enterotoxigenic staphylococci were recovered from either mastitic quarter milk or bulk tank milk.     

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from white-brined Urfa cheese

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes in Urfa cheese samples and to characterize the enterotoxigenic potential of these isolates. From a total of 127 Urfa cheese samples, 53 isolates (from 41.7% of the samples) were identified by a species-specific PCR assay as S. aureus. Of these isolates, 40 (75.5%) gave positive PCR results for the 3' end of the coa gene. The coa-positive S. aureus strains were characterized for their population levels and enterotoxigenic properties, including slime factor, β-lactamase, antibiotic susceptibilities, production of the classical SEs (SEA through SEE), in both cheese and liquid cultures by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and for the presence of specific genes, including classical SE genes (sea through see), mecA, femA, and spa, by PCR. The genetic relatedness among the coa-positive S. aureus isolates was investigated by PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and the 23S rRNA gene spacer. The 23S rRNA gene spacer and coa RFLP analysis using AluI and Hin6I revealed 14 different patterns. SEB, SEC, and SEA and SEE were detected by ELISA in three cheese samples. Fourteen S. aureus strains harbored enterotoxin genes sea through see, and three strains carried multiple toxin genes. The most commonly detected toxin gene was sec (25% of tested strains). Of the 40 analyzed S. aureus strains, 3 (7.5%) were mecA positive. Based on tandem repeats, four coa and spa types were identified. The results of this study indicate that S. aureus and SEs are present at significant levels in Urfa cheese. These toxins can cause staphylococcal food poisoning, creating a serious hazard for public health.     

市售凉皮中金黄色葡萄球菌的肠毒素基因、耐药特征检测及SPA分型

为监测并研究凉皮中金黄色葡萄球菌的污染情况,选取连锁超市、流动摊点、小餐馆和学校餐厅4?种销售渠道,在陕西杨凌地区进行为期一年的凉皮跟踪采样,共得样本432?个,金黄色葡萄球菌检出率为24.3%（105/432）。检测sea、seb、sec、sed、see、seg、seh、sei、sej?9?种肠毒素基因,sea携带率最高为96.2%（101/105）,see次之为64.8%（68/105）,还有部分seb和sec检出,检出率分别为54.3%（57/105）和49.5%（52/105）,seh检出率为1.0%（1/105）,sed、seg、sei、sej的检出率则均为0.0%（0/105）。研究针对青霉素、氨苄西林和苯唑西林等14?种常见药物进行耐药性实验,105?株来自阳性样本的金黄色葡萄菌全部具有耐药性,对青霉素和甲氧苄啶/磺胺甲恶唑耐受率为100.0%（105/105）,对头孢哌酮、环丙沙星、万古霉素和阿米卡星均敏感。此外,多重（n≥3）耐药率高达90.5%（95/105）,表型为青霉素-氨苄西林-甲氧苄啶/磺胺甲恶唑-阿莫西林/克拉维酸的耐药率最高,为61.9%（65/105）。检测105?株金黄色葡萄球菌的SPA型别,共包括4?种结果,优势型别为t701（81.9%,86/105）,其次是t441（16.2%,17/105）,t127和t796占比最少均为1.0%（1/105）。最终,发现该地区所售凉皮除学校餐厅外,其余3?种销售渠道的检出率均较高,且菌株具有较高的肠毒素基因携带率和耐药性,优势SPA型别为t701和t441,为相应监管部门提供一定理论指导。     

食源性金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素基因型分布研究

目的 采用PCR法扩增食源性金黄色葡萄球菌中肠毒素基因以了解该菌肠毒素基因携带情况,比较食物中毒和食品监测来源菌株中肠毒素基因检出率差异.方法 合成sea、seb、sec、sed和see五种肠毒素基因特异性引物,用常规PCR方法扩增食物中毒和食品监测来源菌株中各自肠毒素基因,同时采用mini-VIDAS检测食物中毒来源菌株中肠毒素.结果 110株菌株中有30株检出肠毒素基因,检出率为27.3％,肠毒素基因阳性菌株均只检出1种肠毒素基因.其中来自2起食物中毒的14株菌株均检出seb型肠毒素和相关基因,检出率为100％.来源于食品监测样本的96株菌株中有16株检出肠毒素基因,检出率为16.7％,包括sea型4株、seb型2株、sec型4株、sed型6株.结论 在宁波市食品监测中所分离的金黄色葡萄球菌所携带的肠毒素基因主要有sea、seb、sec和sed四型,而seb型肠毒素是引起金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素所致食物中毒的主要因素.     

Evaluation of molecular methods to determine enterotoxigenic status and molecular genotype of bovine, ovine, human and food isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

This study evaluated the use of PFGE and single enzyme AFLP techniques for the determination of the genetic relationships between Staphyloccocus aureus isolates from human, bovine, ovine and food related sources and reports the prevalence of 'classic' (sea to see) and 'new' (seg, seh, sei, sej, sem, sen and seo) staphylococcal enterotoxin (se) genes in 92 S. aureus strains. A sub-set of the se genotyping results was confirmed by ELISA and the presence of SE toxin determined in isolates from different sources. A 100% correlation was observed, between detection of enterotoxin genes sea-see and expression of corresponding enterotoxin proteins in vitro. The se genotyping data generated from 90 of the S. aureus isolates showed that many of the S. aureus strains producing identical se genotypes correlated with both AFLP and PFGE pattern types. However, single enzyme AFLP technique did not possess the discriminatory power of the PFGE method, but similar clonal relationships were observed by both techniques in many of the isolates tested. Results reported here include the first comprehensive study using a single enzyme AFLP technique to investigate the genetic background of S. aureus isolates from a wide distribution including animal, human and food related sources.     

Relationship between some Staphylococcus aureus pathogenic factors and growth rates and somatic cell counts

Staphylococcus aureus isolates produce several pathogenic factors. The combination of these products influences the pathogenic role of different isolates, but their specific effects are well known in the pathogenesis of udder infections. This study focused on the association of polymorphism of the coagulase gene, protein A gene, collagen-binding protein gene, and of fibrinogen-binding protein gene on somatic cell count (SCC) and on Staph. aureus growth rate. Fifty Staph. aureus isolates from 13 dairy cow herds, located in seven different provinces, were considered. The results showed a low frequency of cna gene, similar to the one observed in human isolates. Meanwhile, the high frequency of efb gene indirectly confirmed the role of this factor in bacterial pathogenesis, being associated with adhesion to epithelia. The association of these two single genes with SCC and growth rate showed to be not significant. The polymorphism of spa gene was confirmed to be significantly associated with inflammatory response and growth rate, albeit with a pattern different from the one suggested for human isolates. Sorting of isolates based on the clusters obtained by combining polymorphisms of spa and coa genes and the presence of cna and efb genes, showed that a single cluster (cluster V) was prevalent in the different herds and provinces, while the other six clusters identified were widely spread among the remaining 60% of the isolates. Results showed that clusters VI and VII had significantly higher growth rates at 3, 4, and 6 h in comparison with the other clusters. Meanwhile, quarters infected with these strains showed significantly lower SCC levels. The frequency of isolates from cluster V, suggested that they should possess pathogenic factors increasing their invasiveness, even if in the presence of a stronger inflammatory response. These results indirectly confirm previous findings on the different interactions between isolates and the udder immune system. They also suggest that isolates with higher growth rates and inducing a lower inflammatory response have better chances to spread among the herd. The relatively simple genomic method proposed in this study could be applied by an increasing number of diagnostic laboratories and could be useful in studying the epidemiology of Staph. aureus intra-mammary infections in dairy herds when collecting data from the field.     

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus strains associated with food poisoning outbreaks in France

Enterotoxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus are responsible for staphylococcal food-poisoning outbreaks (SFPO). In France, SFPO are the second cause of food-borne diseases after Salmonella. However, very little is known about the strains involved. The objective of this study was to characterize the staphylococcal strains related to these SFPO through phenotypic and genotypic analyses. A total of 178 coagulase-positive staphylococcal isolates recovered from 31 SFPO (1981-2002) were screened through biotyping. Thirty-three strains representative of the different biotypes in each SFPO were further examined for SmaI macrorestriction-type, phage-type, resistance to various antimicrobial drugs, presence of staphylococcal enterotoxin (se) genes sea to sei, and production of enterotoxins SEA to SED. All these 33 strains were identified as S. aureus species: 27 were of human biotypes and six ovine or non-host-specific biotypes. Most (74.1%) strains reacted with group III phages. Eleven strains were resistant to at least two classes of antibiotics and among them, two were resistant to methicillin. Twenty-nine strains carried one or several of the eight se genes tested; the gene sea was most common (n=23), and often linked to sed (n=12) or seh (n=5). The novel se genes seg-i were in all cases associated with se genes sea to sed except for one strain which carried only seg and sei. Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) of SmaI macrorestriction digests of the 33 strains discriminated 32 PFGE patterns grouped into nine biotype-specific clusters. All five strains carrying sea and seh were grouped together into the same sub-cluster. Three of the four se-gene-negative strains were in one PFGE cluster: all four should be tested for se genes not included in this study and, if negative, be further investigated for the presence of unidentified SEs.     

Novel multiplex PCR for the detection of the Staphylococcus aureus superantigen and its application to raw meat isolates in Korea

A multiplex PCR assay that allows for the rapid screening of the 19 genes that encode staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) (sea to see, and seg to sei), SE-like (SEl) toxins (sej to ser, and seu), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) (tst) was developed in this study. These toxins are included in the pyrogenic toxin superantigen (PTSAg) family and are responsible for many diseases such as staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) and TSS. The primers were designed based on dual priming oligonucleotide (DPO) technology to detect all of the 19 SAg genes in three sets of PCR. The developed multiplex PCR was applied to 143 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from pork and chicken meat in Korea. Almost 50% of the strains possessed at least one of the 19 SAg genes. The most frequently found genes were seg, sei, sem, and sen (53 isolates, 37%), which were often found simultaneously in the same isolate. In those isolates, the seo (39 isolates, 27%) or seu (6 isolates, 4%) genes were frequently found together and this combination (seg, sei, sem, sen, and seo or seu) was considered to be a part of the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc). The sea gene (10 isolates, 7%) was the gene most frequently detected out of all the classical SE genes (sea to see). Although these classical SEs are considered to be major etiological factors in SFP, newly described SE or SEl genes (seg to ser, and seu) were more frequently detected than the classical SE genes in this study. There was no isolate detected containing the seb, sec, sek, sel, or seq genes. S. aureus possessing mobile genetic elements known to encode these SAg genes, such as egc, were presumed to be widely distributed among pork and chicken meats in Korea. The multiplex PCR developed in this study could be applied to the investigation of SAg genes in S. aureus strains isolated from various sources.     

Genotype analysis of enterotoxin H-positive Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from food samples in the Czech Republic

Twenty-eight enterotoxin H-positive Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from food samples collected in eleven districts of the Czech Republic between 2000 and 2005 were genotypically characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiling, spa gene polymorphism analysis, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence-based PCR (ERIC-PCR) fingerprinting and prophage carriage detection. These strains accounted for about 21% of the food-derived, staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE)-positive isolates. One strain, detected in feta cheese, was implicated in a case of enterotoxinosis. Sixteen of the twenty-eight isolates carried the seh gene alone. The remaining twelve strains harbored the seh gene in combination with other enterotoxin genes, most often the seg and sei genes, followed by the sea, seb, sec and sed genes. Comparison of various genomic profiles resulted in the determination of twenty genotypes designated G-1 to G-20. Two new, to date not defined, spa types (t2000 and t2002) were identified in one strain isolated from raw meat and two strains obtained from prepacked pizza. Evidence has been given that the seh-positive S. aureus isolates from foodstuffs did not originate from a single source or a common ancestor.     

A polyphasic approach to detect enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus and diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in raw milk Italian cheeses by multiplex PCR

A polyphasic approach was evaluated for the detection of eight staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE)-encoding genes (sea, sec, sed, seg, seh, sei, sej, sel) and the Escherichia coli genes most commonly associated with virulence factors (eae, elt, ipaH, stx) in traditional soft cheeses, manufactured artisanally from whole raw milk in the Lombardy region (northern Italy). To determine the presence of the target genes, two multiplex PCRs were performed on DNA extracted both directly from cheese samples (culture-independent approach) and from whole cultivable cells, formed by harvesting colonies from the first serial dilution agar plates of selective media, as representative of cultivable community ("bulk"). Genes associated with enteroinvasive E. coli, ipaH, and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, stx, were detected in two of the bulk samples analyzed; no virulence genes were found by amplifying DNA directly extracted from cheeses. SE-encoding genes were found in three cheeses (sea in all three samples, associated with sed and sej in two of these). More SE-encoding genes were detected by amplifying DNA obtained from bulk samples: sea, sed, sej, sec, seg, sel, and sei. No samples harbored the gene encoding for SE type H. The polyphasic approach followed has been useful in enhancing detection of target genes. Our results indicate that some of the artisanal cheeses examined may constitute a potential hazard for consumer health.     

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from powdered infant formula milk and infant rice cereal in China

Dry infant foods are not sterile and could be contaminated with various bacteria including certain pathogens. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in infant foods and to characterize these strains. A total of 367 infant food samples, including 143 samples of powdered infant formula milk (PIF) and 224 samples of infant rice cereal (IRC), were collected in the Shaanxi Province of China during the period of July to August 2010 and screened for S. aureus. All S. aureus isolates were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and detection of genes encoding enterotoxins, exfoliative toxins, Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), and toxic shock syndrome toxin 1. Among all the samples examined, sixteen of 143 PIF samples (11.2%) and 14 of 224 IRC samples (6.3%) were positive for S. aureus. From these positive samples, 29 S. aureus strains were isolated from PIF and 25 from IRC. Of these S. aureus isolates, 83.3% were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, 35.2% to three or more antimicrobials. Resistance was most frequently observed to erythromycin (75.9%), followed by ciprofloxacin (51.9%) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (27.8%), while significantly fewer isolates were resistant to gentamicin (22.2%), tetracycline (18.5%), or cefoxitin (3.7%). In addition, 63.0% of isolates were positive for one or more toxin genes tested. The three most predominant toxin genes were pvl (40.7%), seg (38.9%), and sec (18.5%), followed by sea (7.4%), seb (7.4%), sed (5.6%), and see (5.6%). The ets, tsst-1, seh, sei, and sej genes were not detected. A total of 39 PFGE patterns were generated among 51 selected food isolates. Our findings indicate that PIF and IRC in the Shaanxi province were contaminated with S. aureus, and many S. aureus isolates harbored multiple toxin genes and exhibited multiple antimicrobial resistance. In addition, these S. aureus isolates were genetically diverse. The presence of S. aureus strains in these infant foods poses a potential threat to infant health.     

The role of teat skin contamination in the epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus intramammary infections

Knowledge of the epidemiological pattern and the potential sources of infections is important to control Staphylococcus aureus in dairy herds. This paper reports the results of a study applying both pulse field gel electrophoresis (PGFE) and the assessment of a selected number of virulence genes to investigate the role of teat skin on Staph. aureus transmission among cows and on the contamination of milk. Overall 61 isolates were considered, 23 from teat skin, 33 from milk samples and 5 from curd samples. Teat swabs were taken in five herds, but in only three of them could Staph. aureus be isolated. Curd was sampled in three herds, but Staph. aureus could be isolated in only two herds. The distribution of isolates among herds confirmed the presence of herd-specific Staph. aureus strain in most of the herds. The same pattern was observed in teat skin samples, in quarter milk samples, and in the curd samples. Our findings are consistent with other studies showing the role of teat skin as a potential reservoir. Moreover, Staph. aureus was isolated from teat skin of confirmed Staph. aureus-negative cows that were segregated from infected ones. Our findings also suggest that some strains have higher chances to survive on teat skin and therefore to increase the risk for contamination of milk and milk products due to the persistence of intramammary infections.     

A coagulase-negative variant of Staphylococcus aureus from bovine mastitis milk

Bacteriological analysis of milk samples from quarters of a dairy cow suffering from subclinical mastitis yielded two isolates of Staphylococcus aureus which gave a negative reaction in the standard coagulase test. Both isolates were also clumping factor and thermonuclease negative, and gave a negative reaction in the Staphaurex? test. The isolates were identified by using commercial biochemical systems, and by PCR analysis of different staphylococcal cell surface protein and exoprotein genes. Further molecular identification of the isolates, which included sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and RT-PCR of coagulase (coa), clumping-factor (clfA) and thermonuclease (nuc) genes, was consistent with the diagnosis phenotypically 'coagulase-negative variant of Staph. aureus'. The fact that coagulase-negative Staph. aureus variants can occur in the context of intramammary infections in cattle may result in the incorrect diagnosis 'coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS)' in routine mastitis diagnostic, at least in rare cases. To fully ensure correct species diagnosis, sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and amplification of specific genes such as coa is necessary in these cases.     

Study of Staphylococcus aureus collected at slaughter from dairy cows with chronic mastitis

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens associated with bovine mastitis. Recent studies have shown that Staph. aureus strains may differ in virulence, and in their ability to disseminate across commercial dairy herds. The goal of this study was to determine whether Staph. aureus isolates differed in their ability to colonize mammary tissue, and whether such differences could be related to molecular characteristics. Quarter milk and mammary tissues of 22 cows from two dairy herds, were collected at slaughter and bacteriological analysis was performed. All Staph. aureus isolates were characterized by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and microarray. Overall 45 mammary quarters were infected and 20 Staph. aureus isolates were identified. The bacteria were mostly recovered from both milk and tissue of the same quarter in significantly higher numbers from herd A cows compared with herd B. Molecular characterization of the isolates showed distinct PFGE profiles for isolates from each herd. Differences in virulence factors between herds A and B isolates were evidenced The genes for enterotoxin D, J and R were present in herd A, those for G, I, N, M, O and U were shown in herd B, whilst both components of the leukocidin lukD/E genes were only carried by herd A isolates. Furthermore, all herd A isolates showed β-haemolysin activity, which was absent in all but one isolate from herd B. Therefore our data indicate that Staph. aureus isolates showing differences in their ability to disseminate and colonize across quarters, also have significantly different virulence characteristics.     

Toxigenic status of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine raw milk and Minas frescal cheese in Brazil

A group of 291 Staphylococcus aureus isolates from mastitic cow's milk (n = 125), bulk tank milk (n = 96), and Minas frescal cheese (n = 70) were screened for staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes (sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei, selj, and sell) and for the tst-1 gene encoding staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 by PCR assay. A total of 109 (37.5%) of the isolates were positive for at least one of these 11 genes, and 23 distinct genotypes of toxin genes were observed. Of the S. aureus isolates bearing SE genes, 17 (13.6%) were from mastitic cow's milk, 41 (41.7%) were from bulk tank milk, and 51 (72.9%) were from Minas frescal cheese. The occurrence of exclusively more recently described SE genes (seg through sell) was considerably higher (87 of 109 PCR-positive strains) than that of classical SE genes (sea through see, 15 strains). The SE genes most commonly detected were seg and sei; they were found alone or in different combinations with other toxin genes, but in 60.8% of the cases they were codetected. No strain possessed see. The tst-1 gene was found in eight isolates but none from mastitic cow's milk. Macrorestriction analysis of chromosomal DNA from 89 S. aureus isolates positive for SE gene(s) was conducted with the enzyme SmaI. Fifty-five distinct pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns were found, demonstrating a lack of predominance of any specific clone. A second enzyme, Apa I, used for some isolates was less discriminating than Sma I. The high genotype diversity of potential toxigenic S. aureus strains found in this study, especially from Minas frescal cheese, suggests various sources of contamination. Efforts from the entire production chain are required to improve consumer safety.     

羊奶粉生产中金黄色葡萄球菌分离鉴定及其分子特性和耐药性检测

为探究羊奶粉在加工过程中金黄色葡萄球菌污染的关键环节及菌株的分子特征和耐药性,对某羊奶粉加工厂不同生产环节进行样本收集,通过采用选择培养和聚合酶链式反应扩增nuc基因对金黄色葡萄球菌进行分离鉴定,然后对分离的菌株进行毒素基因（21 种）、耐药性（16 种常用抗生素）及葡萄球菌A蛋白（staphylococcal protein A,SPA）、多位点序列分型（multilocus sequence typing,MLST）和脉冲场凝胶电泳（pulsed field gel electrophpresis,PFGE）分型研究。结果表明,收集的112 份样本中有6 份样本被污染（5.4%,6/112）,其中包括加工设备（2 份）、加工人员（2 份）、罐奶（1 份）和车间落地粉（1 份）。所有的分离株至少携带1 种毒素基因,其中以pvl基因的携带率最高（100.0%,6/6）,其次为sea、sec、see、seh、sek和seq（50.0%,3/6）,seg、sej和ser（33.3%,2/6）,sed、sei、sem和seo（16.7%,1/6）。所有分离株至少耐受4 种抗生素,其中对氨苄西林、头孢哌酮、甲氧苄啶/磺胺甲恶唑和青霉素的耐药性最为普遍（100.0%,6/6）,其次为红霉素和阿莫西林/克拉维酸（83.3%,5/6）、四环素（50.0%,3/6）和庆大霉素（16.7%,1/6）。此外,所有菌株对苯唑西林、头孢西丁、万古霉素、利奈唑胺等抗生素敏感。所有分离株共有4 种spa分型和3 种ST分型,其中以ST1-t127（50.0%,3/6）为主,其次为ST5-t002、ST5-t548和ST188-t189（16.7%,1/6）。对于PFGE分型,可分为3 个大簇（I、II和III簇）和4 个基因型（A、B、C和D）,其中加工设备和落地粉存在相同的PFGE分型。研究结果表明在羊奶粉加工过程中存在金黄色葡萄球菌污染现象,罐奶、加工设备、加工人员和落地粉是受污染的关键环节,且在不同的加工环节中存在一定的交叉污染。虽然污染率较低,有必要对奶厂不同加工环节的污染情况进行长期调查,确认关键污染环节,可以有效控制金黄色葡萄球菌在奶粉制品中的扩散。     

Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from bulk tank milk of dairy herds

It was the objective of the study to estimate the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in bulk tank milk from German dairy herds and to characterize isolates from bulk tank milk with respect to their Staph. aureus protein A (spa) and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type, their phenotypic antimicrobial resistance and resistance- resp. virulence-associated genes using broth microdilution and a microarray for Staph. aureus. Bulk tank milk samples (25 mL) were tested for MRSA using a 2-step selective enrichment protocol. Presumptive MRSA were confirmed by PCR. Thirty-six isolates collected from bulk tank milk of dairy herds in 2009 and 2010 were included in the characterization. All isolates displayed spa-types assigned to the clonal complex CC398. Based on the epidemiological cut-off values for the interpretation of minimum inhibitory concentrations isolates were resistant to tetracycline (100%), clindamycin (58%), erythromycin (52%), quinupristin/dalfopristin (36%), and kanamycin (27%). Isolates did not carry genes associated with typical virulence factors for Staph. aureus such as the Panton-Valentine leukocidin. However, they did carry hemolysin genes. Livestock-associated MRSA of CC398 does occur in German dairy herds and the strains have similar properties as described for strains from pigs.     

Relationships among superantigen toxin gene profiles,genotypes, and pathogenic characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bovine mastitis

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major etiological agents of bovine mastitis, harboring a wide variety of staphylococcal superantigen (SAg) toxin genes. The SAg toxin genes are reported to be closely associated with the pathogenicity of the Staph. aureus causing the bovine mastitis. This study was conducted to investigate SAg toxin gene profiles and to assess the relationships among SAg toxin genes, genotypes of Staph. aureus, and their pathogenic properties. A total of 327 quarter milk samples were collected from bovine mastitis cases for isolation and identification of pathogens. In total, 35 isolates were identified as Staph. aureus, and the prevalence of Staph. aureus in milk samples was 13.6% (35/256). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assays were used to detect the SAg toxin genes and to genotype Staph. aureus strains isolated from milk samples of bovine mastitis in 10 dairy herds located in Ningxia, China, respectively. The results showed that among the Staph. aureus isolates (n = 35), 71.4% (n = 25) of isolates carried at least one SAg toxin gene. In total, 18 SAg genes and 21 different gene combination patterns were detected among these isolates. The most common SAg genes in Staph. aureus isolates were sei, sen, and seu (44.0% each), followed by seo, tst, and etB (28.0% each), etA (24.0%), sem and sep (16.0% each), seb, sec, sed, and sek (12.0% each), and sea and seh genes (8.0% each); the seg, sej, and ser genes were present in 4.0% of the isolates. Three gene combinations were found to be related to mobile genetic elements that carried 2 or more genes. The egc-cluster of the seg-sei-sem-sen-seo genes, located on the pathogenicity island Type I υSaβ, was detected in 16% of isolates. Interestingly, we observed 6 RAPD genotypes (I to VI) in Staph. aureus isolates, and 2 of these genotypes were strongly associated with the severity of bovine mastitis; there was a close relationship between the RAPD genotypes and SAg genes. Isolates of RAPD type III were more frequently associated with clinical and subclinical mastitis, whereas strains of type VI were mostly related to subclinical mastitis. In addition, SAg genes were related to severity of bovine mastitis. We conclude that an obvious relationship exists among RAPD genotypes, SAg toxin genes, and severity of bovine mastitis.