EVALUATION OF CONVENTIONAL MEDIA FOR DETECTION OF COLONIZATION FACTORANTIGENS OF ENTEROTOXIGENIC ESCHERICHIA-COLI

Strains of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli producing either colonizat ion factor antigen (CFA) I or II were tested for expression of CFA whe n grown on 16 different agar media by using agglutination and coagglut ination with monoclonal antibodies, mannose-resistant hemagglutination , and a salt aggregation assay. CFA was detected from the CFA-positive strains when CFA agar was used, and it was also detected when other c ommercially available media were used, notably nutrient agar. CFA was not detected when other commercial media such as MacConkey agar were u sed. The use of nutrient agar with monoclonal antibody-based coaggluti nation reagents offers a potentially simple and rapid method for detec ting E. coli which express CFA I or II.