First Report of the Presence of Enterotoxin Gene in Coagulase-negative Staphylococci Recovered from Meat of Snails ().

INTRODUCTION

It has been suggested that coagulase-negative staphylococci can serve as reservoirs of virulence genes for other bacteria. This study assessed the presence of such genes in selected isolates recovered from meat of the giant African snail ().

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Virulence genes were detected using a polymerase chain reaction targeting specific primers. Two representative isolates were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

RESULTS

The results showed that the staphylococcal enterotoxin A gene () was present in five out of the eight isolates studied. The isolates expressed resistance mainly to three antibiotics: chloramphenicol, norfloxacin and cloxacillin in descending order of incidence. Most importantly, the isolate NEDU 181, in addition to being resistant to the three aforementioned antibiotics, also harboured the gene.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of toxigenic and antibiotic-resistant coagulase-negative s spp. in commercially-available fresh snail meat. With staphylococcal enterotoxin A known to survive cooking temperature, this presents a food safety concern.