DETECTION OF Staphylococcus aureus FROM LOCAL AND IMPORTED CHICKEN IN DUHOK PROVINCE/KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ USING CONVENTIONAL AND MOLECULAR METHODS

This study aimed to detect Staphylococcus aureus in local fresh whole chicken and frozen imported chicken using conventional and PCR assay by targeting specific S . aureus thermonuclease gene ( nuc ). A total of 200 whole chicken carcasses were examined and samples include 100 of local chickens from the Duhok chicken abattoir and 100 of imported chicken from supermarkets in Duhok city. The samples were cultured on mannitol salt agar and the confirmation is done by colony morphology, Gram stain, biochemical test including catalase test and coagulase test. The results showed that 28 (28%) of 100 local chicken and 80 (80%) of 100 imported frozen chicken carcasses were found to be positive with S . aureus using conventional methods. Amplification of nuc gene specific for S . aureus is used to confirm the isolates of S . aureus . The results showed that only 18 of 22 coagulase positive isolates from local chicken and 57 of 68 coagulase positive isolates from imported chicken were confirmed as S . aureus . The results indicate that PCR assay seem to be more specific for detection of S . aureus in food sample and appear to be more reliable than conventional methods for assessing bacteriological safety of food. These results showed high prevalence of S . aureus in imported chicken than in local chicken meat and thus may happen as a result of processing and storage conditions.