Isolation and Characterization of Staphylococcus sp., from Drinking Water Samples of Guntur, Krishna and Prakasham Districts, Andhra Pradesh, India

Staphylococci are ubiquitous bacteria in the environment and it is widely distributed in different types of water including drinking water. The present study was undertaken to determine Staphylococci sp., in drinking water samples collected from Guntur, Krishna and Prakasam Dt., of Andhra Pradesh. 100 mu l of each water samples are added onto the specific media (Mannitol Salt Agar) plates and incubated at 37 degrees C for 24 h and observed for the growth. After the incubation period, the colonies obtained on the specific media (Mannitol Salt Agar, Cetrimide Agar) are cultured using pure culture techniques and then confirmed by conducting morphological and biochemical tests like catalase, coagulase, oxidase, indole production test, methyl red test, Vogerproskauer test and mannitol tests for the bacterial strain. It is concluded that the bacterial species may be Staphylococcus aureus. However, further biochemical tests like DNase test and haemolysis tests have to be conducted to confirm the bacterial species.