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AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE OCCURRENCE OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (ROSENBACH, 1884) AND SCREENING FOR ALCOHOL PRESENCE IN MECHANICALLY EXPRESSED BREASTMILK SAMPLES

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test and isolate colonies of Staphylococcus aureus (Rossenbach, 1884) from breastmilk to investigate whether colonies were resistant against oxacillin and to screen samples for alcohol. The presence of S. aureus provides evidence whether the breastmilk is microbe-free or not. The importance of sterilizing breast pump accessories when nursing is paramount to the health of infants. Without sterilizing, dangerous microbes may be introduced, possibly harming the infant. Ten breastmilk samples were collected from different lactating mothers and kept frozen until experimentation. To begin with, the breastmilk was brought to room temperature for testing. Then, 0.5 mL of each breastmilk sample was inoculated using sterile pipettes onto plates of Baird-Parker agar and incubated at 35-37 °C for 24-48 hours. This was followed by the isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Samples with growth were inoculated into trypticase soy broth (TSB) with 6.5% NaCl and incubated at 34-36 °C for 18 hours. Subsequently, TSB cultures with turbid growth were inoculated onto Mueller-Hinton agar plates to test for methicillin resistance using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test with oxacillin. The plates were incubated at 35°C for 16-18 hours. After incubation, four plates (1, 2, 3, and 10) showed no zone of inhibition; however, five plates (4, 5, 6, 8, and 9) had visible zones of inhibition. The second portion of this study focused on screening for alcohol in breastmilk samples by using “Milkscreen” alcohol test strips. The test strips can detect alcohol levels of 13.1 mg/dL and higher. All breastmilk samples were negative for the alcohol screen. The first hypothesis is that there will be a small number (1-10) of Staphylococcus aureus growth on each of the breastmilk samples, on the Baird-Parker plates. The second hypothesis is that at least half of the samples will be resistant to oxacillin. The third hypothesis is that there will be no alcohol present in the breastmilk. All three hypotheses were accepted.

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