CONFIRMATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF LISTERIA SPP

All confirmation and identification methods used in this study can be used for the screening of suspected colonies on isolation media for Li steria spp. In traditional enrichment procedures the Microscreen Liste ria latex test gives fast results. The DNA probes (Accuprobe and Gene- Trak) are very specific in detecting Listeria monocytogenes. For ident ification of Listeria spp. both tests (API and Micro-ID) performed equ ally well. Preference may be given to the API test, since differentiat ion of L. monocytogenes from L. innocua is based on the absence of ary lamidase, through which tests for haemolytic activity and/or CAMP reac tions can be omitted. However, the use of Enhanced Haemolysis Agar as isolation medium makes further testing essentially superfluous, since L. monocytogenes strains can be differentiated from L. innocua.