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Cold Enrichment of Gram-Negative Enteric Bacteria

Description

Some bacteria can continue to survive and proliferate at cooler temperatures. In a suitable media this ability to proliferate can help these bacteria to emerge from contaminated specimens. It also underlies the hazard of these organisms in milk and other refrigerated foodstuffs.


Organisms that may be isolated:

(1) Yersinia enterocolitica

(2) Listeria monocytogenes

(3) Campylobacter jejuni

 

Temperature for cold enrichment: 4°C or refigerated

 

Incubation period: 12 hours (overnight) to a week or more

 

Media is selected that supports the species to be isolated, such as Campy-thio broth for Campylobacter.

 

Some methods use media with antibiotics added to which the target bacteria is resistant (selective media).

 

After the incubation in the cold the sample is plated out.

 

The availability of molecular methods means that these pathogens can be detected more quickly than before.


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