Staphylococcus aureus strains characterization isolated from raw milk and cheese

Foodborne diseases are a major public health problem worldwide. Staphylococcus aureus is a frequent cause of food poisoning, especially related to the consumption of poorly refrigerated raw foods, including raw milk and dairy products. Among the numerous virulence factors of S. aureus, the ability to produce, under certain conditions, highly stable enterotoxins, which are the main responsible for staphylococcal intoxications, stands out. In order to know the genomic characteristics associated with the capacity of enterotoxin production, S. aureus strains from raw milk and cheese samples from sheep farms were genomically characterized by whole genome sequencing.