Comparison of selective enrichment media for the detection of Salmonella in poultry faeces

N. V OOGT, M . R AES, W .J.B. W ANNET, A .M. H ENKEN A ND A .W. V AN D E G IESSEN. 2001. Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the results of semisolid media and Rappaport‐ Vassiliadis (RV) medium for the detection of Salmonella in faecal samples from broiler and layer flocks. Methods and Results: Three different selective enrichment media were used: (a) RV medium; (b) diagnostic semisolid Salmonella medium (DIASALM) and (c) modified semisolid RV (MSRV) medium. The performance of DIASALM and MSRV was significantly better compared with RV. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that approximately 95% of the samples containing Salmonella would be detected by a combination of a semisolid medium (MSRV or DIASALM) and RV. Significance and Impact of the Study: The International Standard method ISO 6579, including RV and selenite cystine broth as selective enrichment media, is most frequently used for the isolation of Salmonella from poultry faeces. This study reveals that there are more suitable combinations of selective enrichment media.