ABSTRACT
On the basis of glucose fermentation and lysostaphin sensitivity, 71 gram-positive, catalase-positive cocci, isolated from mastitic ovine milk in Spain, were classified as members of the genus Staphylococcus . Identification at the species level was accomplished by complete characterization of the staphylococcal strains. Fifty-nine of the isolates were classified as S. aureus , 1 as S. simulans , 5 as S. epidermidis , a as S. haemolyticus and 5 could not be classified as any accepted or newly proposed species. The number of strains lysed by phages of S. aureus of human and bovine origin was 8 and 40, respectively. The phage pattern most frequently found was 78 (34 strains). Fifty of the S. aureus strains belonged to biotype C. Forty-nine of the S. aureus strains and 2 of the unclassified ones produced enterotoxin: 46 produced enterotoxin C, 2 produced enterotoxin A, 1 produced enterotoxin D and 2 produced both enterotoxins A and C. Forty-one of the 46 enterotoxin C producers belonged to biotype C, and 31 of these were lysed by phage 78.
