[Fermentation and colicinogeny for differentiation of Salmonella enteritidis (Gaertner's bacterium)]

Study material of 435 strains of Salmonella enteritidis which were predominantly cultivated from human specimens in Schleswig-Holstein in the years from 1968 to 1978, was used for investigating the biochemical differentiation by the fermentation of arabinose, dulcitol, rhamnose and glycerol (method after Kauffmann); moreover, the decarboxylation of lysine and the gas formation from glucose as well as the colicinogenicity (indicator Escherichia coli K 12 ROW) were tested. The 4 classical biotypes showed the following rates of incidence (in %): Jena 77.2; Danysz 2.3; Chaco 1.6; Essen 9.0; 9.9 per cent of all isolates did not permit classification, among them there were 19 (4.4%) strains of unknown rhamnose-negative biotypes some of which formed no gas from glucose. Four cultures (1 Jena strain, 3 Danysz strains) were LDC-negative. The colicinogenicity was identified in 20 isolates, among them 18 strains alone in a single outbreak. The analyses revealed that the fermentation properties were constant within outbreaks while the colicinogenicity may get lost in some strains within an outbreak.