Biotyping of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk and milk products in Tabriz city

Knowledge about phenotypic features of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk and their products is very limited in Tabriz region. The aim of this study was to determine the biotypes of S. aureus. For this purpose, 48 S. aureus strains which were previously isolated from cow raw milk (24), traditional cheese (12) and ice cream (12) in Tabriz region were considered. Biotyping was carried out by means of Staphylokinase production, β-hemolysis, coagulation of cow plasma and crystal violates reaction. Among 48 isolates, 23 and 2 strains were belonged to the human and ovine ecovars, respectively. The rest of the isolates were identified as non-host specific ecovars. Regarding the high prevalence rate of human ecovars in this study, it seems that these ecovars may have been transmitted to these products via human handling.