Enterotoxigenicity of Staphylococcus aureus from Anterior Nares of Dining Hall Workers

Abstract

The frequency of isolation of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in dining hall workers of a Nigerian University was determined. Of a total of 186 workers sampled, 47 (25.3%) were carriers of enterotoxigenic S. aureus in their anterior nares, including 19 (22.4%) of 85 cooks and 11 (23.9%) of 46 stewards. Fifty-five (26.6%) of 207 strains of S. aureus tested produced staphylococcal enterotoxins A (SEA), B (SEB), C (SEC), D (SED) or E (SEE). SEA predominated, with 18 (8.7%) strains elaborating it and representing 32.7% of all enterotoxigenic strains. SEC and SED were produced by 14 (6.8%) and 13 (6.3%) strains, respectively, and 9 (4.3%) strains produced SEB and SEE. It appears that SEA poses the greatest risk to students consuming foods contaminated by S. aureus of nasal origin from these workers.