Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus , Vibriospp., andenterobacteria in pepitona, Arca zebra, commercialized inCumaná, Venezuela

Pepitona or turkey wing, Arca zebra (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Arcidae), is a product of massive consumption in eastern Venezuela. Monthly samples (march to september 2004) of pepitona meat were taken from vending places in the Cumana Municipal Market, in order to determine their hygienic conditions. Plate cultures of Staphylococcus aureus and enterobacteriae, and detection of Vibrio spp. were made. The identification was made using differential biochemical tests based upon the metabolic activity of each isolated strain. The analyses showed a high degree of contamination by S. aureus and enterobacteria in samples of pepitona meat, with average values 1.8 x 102 to 6.4 x 103, and 2.5 x 102 to 5.4 x 103 CFU/g, respectively. A total number of 61 strains of S. aureus were isolated, of which 39.1% yielded positive to the coagulase test and 41.7% to the DNAse test. Ten species of the family Enterobacteriaceae were identified, being Escherichia coli the most predominant with 25% prevalence. The following Vibrio species were identified: V. alginolyticus, V. parahaemolyticus, V. metchinikovii, V. fluvialis and V. mimicus. The presence of pathogens in pepitona meat freely sold to the public in the Municipal Market of Cumana was demonstrated.