Using SIB and API kits to identify and biotype enterobacteria of different origin

A collection of 26 Enterobacteriaceae reference strains provided by Reference Centres in Moscow (USSR) and Copenhagen (Denmark) as well as a collection of 660 freshly isolated cultures of Gram-negative bacteria of different origin were investigated using SIB indicator systems manufactured at the Gorky Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology (USSR) and API-20E, Rapid-20E and API-10S kits (API, France) with the aim of species determination. In analyzing freshly isolated cultures, API-20E, API-10S and SIB-B kits proved to be of approximately equal efficiency, whereas the Rapid-20E system enabled species identification in no more than 78% of the tested cultures. In a model biotyping of 284 E. coli cultures of different origin, SIB-B and API-20E kits in combination with the Analytical Profile Index enabled sufficiently rapid and standard identification of Enterobacteriaceae biovars.