Relationship of some biochemical characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus to enterotoxin production

A total of 151 enterotoxigenic and 98 non-enterotoxigenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus were examined for production of coagulase, phosphatase, deoxyribonuclease, haemolytic activity, glucose and mannitol fermentation, typical growth on Baird-Parker medium, pigment production and growth under anaerobic conditions. Enterotoxigenic strains showed a higher tendency to demonstrate haemolytic activity, but none of the other biochemical properties could be correlated with the ability of the staphylococci to produce enterotoxins. It appears that other ancillary tests must be developed to be useful in the differentiation of enterotoxigenic and non-enterotoxigenic staphylococci.