Routine detection of Salmonella species in water: comparative evaluation of the ISO and PROBELIA polymerase chain...

Water is one of the main transmission routes for Salmonella spp., the causative agents of salmonellosis in humans and animals. This worldwide sanitary problem requires rapid and accurate analyses to be realized so that advisories for exposed people are timely and reliable. Because the traditional method, the ISO 6340 method, does not meet the criterion of rapidity, there was a need for a quicker method. To fulfill this need, a comparative evaluation between the ISO method and one based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the PROBELIA, was performed. Waters from different origins were tested either directly or after artificial contamination with selected Salmonella strains isolated from the environment. The results clearly demonstrate that the PCR-based method can advantageously replace the ISO 6340 method. It is quicker, less labor intensive, reproducible, and provides results that match perfectly to those obtained by the ISO method. Furthermore, the PROBELIA method meets the requirements for an efficient sanitary survey: high numbers of samples processed at the same time, reduced cost, and results within 2 days.