The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 13, Issue 2 362-367, Copyright © 1980 by Society for General Microbiology
Evaluation of the phenol-induced flagellar agglutination test for the identification of the cholera group of vibrios
M. C. Pastoris, F. K. Bhattacharyya and J. Sil
Applied routinely to 1081 recently isolated cultures, the phenol-induced
slide-agglutination test (standard procedure) with flagellar antiserum
corrently identified 98.9% of Vibrio cholerae strains of O type-I and NAG
serotypes; 1.0% of cultures were unstable in phenol-saline. The incidence
of instability and other types of defect was higher (7.3%) in older stock
cultures. The majority of such strains were successfully tested by one of
the three modified procedures. No cross-reactions were observed in 47
cultures of other species including the halophilic vibrios. Only one out of
the 1205 cultures of V. cholerae tested by all procedures reacted
negatively; this strain was found to lack functional flagella. These
results establish the significance of flagellar specificity as a
classificatory determinant in V. cholerae, and the fidelity and utility of
the phenol test in routine bacteriology.
