Vol. 7, Issue 9 (2018)

Author(s):
Silpa Raj S, Justin Davis K, Vinodkumar K, Binsy Mathew and K Vijayakumar

Abstract:
Staphylococcus aureus is a common commensal bacterial pathogen colonizing humans and variety of animal species. Nasal colonization of S. aureus has been detected from pigs in many parts of the world and is having great potential to act as a human pathogen. The present study was conducted to identify the nasal carriers of S. aureus among pigs and their confirmation by biochemical and molecular characterization. Nasal swabs (n=119) were collected from four pig farms in Thrissur district and Staphylococci were isolated by conventional culture methods. Preliminary identification of Staphylococci was carried out by performing a range of biochemical tests. Molecular characterization of S. aureus was done by genus specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting the 16S rRNA and species specific PCR targeting the 23S rRNA. The prevalence of S. aureus in the study was 42.86 percent.