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Identification of Staphylococci in Nonfat Dry Milk by the Fluorescent Antibody Technique^{1, 2,}

Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison

ABSTRACT

An investigation was made of the applicability of the fluorescent antibody technique to the detection of staphylococci in nonfat dry milk. Procedures are given for the preparation of milk films and the staining of these films by the indirect fluorescent antibody procedure. Qualitative studies revealed that Staphylococcus aureus cells could be specifically identified in the presence of cells of Streptococcus lactis, Lactobacillus casei, Bacillus subtilis, and other organisms which might occur normally in milk. Additional studies showed that cells of staphylococci could be quantitatively determined in milk films by this procedure, and that direct microscopic counts of these organisms correlated extremely well with numbers of S. aureus cells known to be present. The quantitative detection of staphylococci from nonfat dry milk which had been inoculated with S. aureus before spray-drying demonstrated that the heating and desiccation occurring during spray-drying did not affect the results of our tests. Advantages of the fluorescent antibody technique over conventional procedures are presented.

¹ Published with the approval of the Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station.

² Supported in part by funds from the American Dry Milk Institute.

³ Present address: Communicable Disease Center, Atlanta, Georgia.