EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT SELECTIVE MEDIA FOR THE CULTURE OF Salmonella

ABSTRACT

This present study was aimed to determine the efficacy of different culture media for isolation and identification of Salmonella spp. present in meat sold within different locations in the markets in Benin City, Nigeria. A total of twelve (12) samples of meat were collected in market, located in Benin City, and packaged in sterile polythene bags and transported to the university of Benin microbiology laboratory for analysis. The samples were processed for bacteriological analysis within 1-5 hours of collection. Out of these twelve samples of isolated bacteria from the meat, only ten samples were confirmed to have Salmonella spp. particularly Salmonella enterica and was subcultured on selective media such as Salmonella Shigella agar (SSA) and Hektoen enteric agar (HEA). Out of 12 Salmonella enterica. isolates, only 10 grew on Salmonella Shigella Agar plates, while the remaining two were not actually Salmonella spp, Similarly, out of 12, only 9 grew on Hektoen enteric agar plates with no growth on the other three streaked area of the agar plate, this indicates that Hektoen enteric agar is favourable for the isolation and identification of salmonella spp. The efficiency of Salmonella Shigella Agar (SSA) and Hektoen Enteric Agar (HEA) were 83% and 75% respectively and it was of close range. The result further revealed that the usage of selective media should be accompanied by using other biochemical characterization because some isolate have the capacity to mimic the growth of Salmonella spp.