[Comparing studies on biochemical characteristics for pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance of staphylococci...

735 strains of staphylococci obtained from routine material were examined for biochemical characteristics claimed by BAIRD-PARKER (Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 1974) to be pathogenic features); the behaviour of the strains showing these properties was then compared to that of 12 antibiotics. Thereby, 237 of the 735 strains (32.2%, tab. 2) were positive for the combination of pathogenic features as proposed by BAIRD-PARKER (aerobic and anaerobic mannitol fermentation, beta-haemolysis, and positive coagulase reactivity), with approx. 30% of the Staphylococcus strains showing white pigmentation and 70% of them showing yellow pigmentation. The number of strains showing the combination of aerobic mannitol fermentation, beta-haemolysis, and positive coagulase reactivity was significantly higher: 341 out of 735 strains (46.4%, tab. 2). A comparison of the resistance to 12 antibiotics with the combination of pathogenic features of BAIRD-PARKER (Tab. 4) showed that he white Staphylococcus strains with this combination exhibited a significantly higher resistance to 6 of the tested antibiotics than the white Staphylococcus strains not showing these characteristics. Such a correlation between biochemical characteristics and resistance behaviour could not be demonstrated in the yellow Staphylococcus strains. The value of biochemical characteristics as features of pathogenicity and the resistance behaviour of staphylococcal strains to antibiotics in vitro for their pathogenic behaviour in vivo is discussed in relation to comparable results reported by other authors.