Prevalence of epidermolytic toxin in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus.

One hundred and sixteen strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from exfoliative skin lesions were screened for their ability to produce different serotypes of epidermolytic toxin (ET). Toxin production was assessed by immunodiffusion, analytical isoelectric focussing and examination for the Nikolsky sign in mice. Of 84 strains of phage group II, 72 (85.7%) were toxinogenic as were 10 of 32 (31.3%) non-group-II strains. The ability to produce ET serotypes A and B was not confined to a particular phage group.