Use of the API 20E system to identify veterinary Enterobacteriaceae

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Microbiology
• Bacterial Pathogenesis
• Diagnostic Microbiology

Background:

• Veterinary enteric bacterial pathogens require accurate and rapid identification for effective treatment.
• Current diagnostic methods may have limitations in speed and accuracy for veterinary isolates.
• The API 20E system is a common microidentification tool, but its efficacy in veterinary settings needed evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accuracy and reliability of the API 20E system for identifying veterinary enteric bacterial pathogens.
• To compare the performance of the API 20E system with traditional diagnostic laboratory identifications.
• To investigate biotype differences between human and veterinary bacterial isolates.

Main Methods:

• Testing 503 veterinary enteric bacterial pathogens using API 20E strips.
• Comparing API 20E results with identifications from state veterinary diagnostic laboratories.
• Analyzing biochemical reaction differences between human and veterinary isolates.

Main Results:

• The API 20E strip achieved 96% accuracy in identifying veterinary isolates.
• Agreement between API 20E and laboratory identifications was 85%, with API 20E showing fewer misidentifications.
• Significant biotype differences were observed between human and veterinary isolates, particularly in E. coli, Salmonella, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, but these did not impede API 20E identification.

Conclusions:

• The API 20E system is a highly accurate and reliable tool for the rapid identification of veterinary enteric bacterial pathogens in clinical microbiology.
• The API 20E system demonstrates superior accuracy compared to some diagnostic laboratory identifications for these isolates.
• Understanding biotype variations is important, but does not compromise the utility of the API 20E for veterinary diagnostics.