Vivione Bioscience RAPID-B(®) E. coli O157 test kit and non-O157 STEC test kit evaluation

RAPID-B(®) is a high performance, integrated microbiology/infectious disease diagnostic system. The system uses hardware and software that are specifically designed for optimal detection using custom, immuno-based reagents designed to react to cell surface antigens of the target bacteria. The Vivione Bioscience RAPID-B Escherichia coli O157 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) kits were validated alongside the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG) 5.07 (for E. coli O157) and FSIS MLG 5B.04 (for non-O157 STEC) reference methods for the detection of E. coli O157 and STEC. The matrixes, ground beef and beef trim, were inoculated with appropriate CFU/test portion of E. coli O157 and STEC so as to generate fractional positives results, 5 to 15 positives out of 20 inoculated samples. Samples were enriched in prewarmed Brain Heart Infusion broth at 42 ± 1°C for 6.5-7.5 h or 8.5-9.5 h depending on the sample size. All samples were confirmed using the MLG reference method, regardless of initial screen result. The RAPID-B test methods were statistically equivalent to the reference method for the detection of E. coli O157 and STEC in all tested samples. Inclusivity and exclusivity testing of the RAPID-B methods showed 100% specificity for both kits. Finally, the RAPID-B test methods were shown to be robust when variations were applied to enrichment time, broth temperature, and vortexing time.