Four hour-test for the identification of Enterobacteriaceae

A set of 12 rapid biochemical tests--lysinedecarboxylase, ornithinedecarboxylase, beta-galactosidase, urease, hydrogensulphide, indole, acetoin, deoxyribonuclease, esculin, mannitol, raffinose and sorbitol--were selected from an original set of 13 tests and were found to give 98% accurate reactions within 4 hrs of incubation for the identification of bacteria belonging to Enterobacteriaceae. This set permits identification on the genus and/or species level for Escherichia, Shigella, Citrobacter, Salmonella, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Serratia and Proteus.