Enterotoxicity of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> Isolated from Beans Pudding

Abstract

36 samples of beans pudding from selected sources were analysed for Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus using standard protocols aimed at assessing its bacteriological quality. Samples obtained from restaurant showed slightly lower value for total plate count (1.3 x 10⁴ - 1.6 x 10⁶ cfu/gm) compared to samples from cafeteria (2.7 x 10⁴ - 2.6 x 10⁶ cfu/gm) and hawkers (3.1 x 10⁴ - 3.2 x 10⁶ cfu/gm). Count of S. aureus from samples obtained from hawkers varied between 1.2 x 10³ - 2.0 x 10⁶ cfu/gm while those of cafeteria and restaurant showed counts varying between 1.3 x 10³ - 1.0 x 10⁵ cfu/gm and 2.2 x 10³ - 1.1 x 10⁵ cfu/gm respectively. The counts for B. cereus from samples obtained from hawker ranged from 1.0 x 10² - 1.3 x 10⁴ cfu/gm, while those from cafeteria and restaurant ranged from 1.0 x 10² - 2.10 x 10⁴ cfu/gm and 1.0 x 10² - 1.0 x 10⁴ cfu/gm respectively. 53% of the 13 isolates of S. aureus produced enterotoxin A but non produced enterotoxins C and D. The results from this study showed that S. aureus is common in vended beans capable of producing pathogenic enterotoxin A.