Staphylococcus aureus and its enterotoxin in donor human milk

In this thesis, we performed an audit of the Perron Rotary Milk Bank to determine the prevalence of bacteria in donated human milk. Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent pathogenic bacteria. We established the impact of different storage temperatures on Staphylococcus aureus growth and enterotoxin production in raw, Holder pasteurized and UV-C treated human milk, the results of which are applicable to product safety. We have also established a baseline for further development of a cell-based biosensor to detect staphylococcal enterotoxin in donated human milk to understand the impact of enterotoxins on intestinal development of preterm infants.