Overnight Enrichment is Essential for Reliable Salmonella PCR Testing from Fecal Samples
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Updated: Mar 6, 2026
Quasi-metagenomic Analysis of Salmonella from Food and Environmental Samples
Published on: October 25, 2018
Background:
A rapid molecular test for identifying cases of infectious diarrhea might be beneficial for patients.
Methods:
We established a LightMix modular multiplex PCR assay for rapid detection of Campylobacter, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Shigella species from fecal samples.
Results:
Unlike Campylobacter sp., direct detection of Salmonella from feces by multiplex PCR was significantly less sensitive than culture. Only 11 out of 21 (52%) Salmonella culture positive specimens were positive for Salmonella in the direct multiplex PCR assay (Campylobacter: 52/53 samples [98%]). In contrast, an overnight selenite enrichment step prior to multiplex PCR increased the Salmonella assay sensitivity significantly: 18 out of 18 Salmonella culture positive samples were then also detected by PCR.
Conclusions:
An overnight enrichment step is necessary for reliable PCR detection of Salmonella from fecal samples.
