Distribution of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin Genes among Clinical Isolates

Abstract

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen which produces numerous numbers of toxins including enterotoxins those cause many diseases in both human and animal. It is very important to know the extent of distribution of these toxins, as they are concern of public health problems including food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. Objective: This study was conducted to estimate the distribution of enterotoxin genes among the clinical isolates of the Staphylococcus aureus by multiplex PCR. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology& Immunology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka during the period from March 2014 to February 2015. A total 125 isolates of S. aureus from different clinical specimens were identified by standard microbiological methods. Multiplex PCR assay was performed by using standard protocol with specific primers to detect genes for staphylococcal enterotoxins A to E (sea, seb, sec, sed and see) from identified S. aureus isolates. Results: Out of 125 S. aureus isolates, 63 (50.4%) were enterotoxin genes positive in which the predominant gene was sec, which was present in 36% of tested S. aureus isolates followed by sea (17.6%) and see (13.6%). Multiple enterotoxin genes combination was common in S. aureus isolates and the predominant combination was sea+sec genes. Out of 76 Staphylococcus aureus isolated from indoor patients, 45 (59.2%) were positive for enterotoxin genes which were higher than outdoor patients 18 (36.7%). Conclusion: The enterotoxin genes are frequently present in S. aureus isolates. The most frequent gene is sec followed by sea and see. Moreover, multiple genes are more commonly present in S. aureus strains which support the strong virulent potential of these strains. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2021; 47(1): 90-97