Improved recovery of group A beta-hemolytic streptococci with a new selective medium

A new selective group A streptococcus agar (ssA) (BBL Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, Md.) was evaluated for the recovery and direct plate identification of group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) in comparison with sheep blood agar (SBA). A total of 265 GABHS were recovered from 1,116 throat swab specimens on both media, with detection rates of 98.9 and 91.7% for ssA and SBA, respectively. Primary bacitracin disk susceptibility tests were performed on 549 specimens, and presumptive identifications were possible for 81.4% of the GABHS on ssA, as compared with 44.2% on SBA. All of the 120 GABHS recovered from another 567 specimens were identified by a coagglutination method after overnight incubation on ssA, whereas only 70.2% were identified at this interval on SBA. The major advantage of the ssA was the inhibition of normal respiratory flora, permitting improved recovery and rapid identification of GABHS.