How to identify Proteus

[Dilworth]

If you're using conventional media, as we used to do a long time ago, to screen
lactose negative colonies from stool cultures,  adding a urea slant and SIM
deep (indole, motility, and H2S) to a TSI and LIA slant can eliminate false
positive Salmonella's.  Are you serotyping your isolate before you call it a
Salmonella?  When Vitek (automated system) identifies a Salmonella, it is
always understood that this result is subject to serotyping.  If you're merely
using TSI, you probably should add at least a urea to your screen.  When we got
a positive screening with the TSI, LIA, Urea, and SIM, then we performed
serotyping, sensitivity, and a full lactose negative biochemical panel.
(Likewise, if the screening with the four media came up with a Shigella
species, we went on to perform serotyping, sensitivity,  and full panel).

Hope this helps.

Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
Microbiology


HeC wrote:

> Hi group
> How do I identify Proteus ? They make a false positive Salmonella, ........