[Species characteristics of coagulase-negative staphylococci of animal origin].

The specific identification of 271 strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from different animals (cows, sheep, swine, hens, monkeys, minks, sables, foxes, etc.) was carried out according to the scheme of Akatov--Devriese. Species could be determined in 77.5% of the strains. The representatives of S. sciuri (55.5%) and S. xylosus (11.4%), very seldom occurring in humans, prevailed among the identified cultures. In 31.4% of coagulase-negative strains of animal origin the presence of protein A was established. The study of the time of glucose fermentation in the cultures and the type of colonies formed on agar with crystalline violet permitted the additional characterization of the majority of the strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci. Only in 4.8% of cases the strains under study could be lyzed by typing phages Holmberg and belonged to 6 phage types; of these, 117 A was the most numerous one (7 out of 13 typed cultures). No relationship between the phage type and the species of the strains was established.