Two-hour miniaturized system for detection of enteropathogenic bacteria in stool cultures

A miniaturized 2-h system for detection of lactose-negative potentially enteropathogenic bacteria on the basis of nine enzymatic tests was evaluated. The system was challenged with 210 strains of lactose-negative and lactose-positive species grown on MacConkey agar. Specific and constant patterns were found for Salmonella, Shigella A-C, Yersinia enterocolitica, Aeromonas spp. and Vibrio cholerae. Shigella sonnei and Hafnia alvei had an identical pattern, likewise Plesiomonas shigelloides, halophilic vibrios and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.