A rapid and sensitive method for the detection of Yersinia enterocolitica strains from clinical samples

Aims: To compare three culture methods to detect Yersinia enterocolitica fr om oral or rectal swabs from experimentally infected pigs. Methods and Results: The three methods used were: direct plating on Cefsulo din-Irgasan-Novobiocin (CIN) agar, cold enrichment in phosphate buffered sa line (PBS) followed by plating on CIN agar and selective enrichment with Lu ria-Bertani-Bile Salts Irgasan (LB-BSI) followed by plating on CIN agar. Se lective enrichment with LB-BSI produced the highest recovery rate (63%), wh en compared with cold enrichment (52%) and plating on CIN agar alone (43%). Selective enrichment with LB-BSI was significantly (P < 0.02) more sensiti ve than direct plating on CIN agar and more sensitive than cold enrichment (P < 0.1). Conclusions, Significance and Impact of the Study: Selective enrichment wit h LB-BSI was more sensitive than the widely accepted method of cold enrichm ent and it reduced the time required for detection of Y. enterocolitica by three weeks. Selective enrichment with LB-BSI was also compatible with a mu ltiplex PCR technique.