CHROMagar™ Campylobacter

CHROMagar™ Campylobacter is a highly selective and chromogenic culture medium designed for the detection, differentiation, and presumptive identification of thermotolerant Campylobacter species, such as Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. This medium provides clear, intense red-colored colonies, simplifying the identification process and offering improved specificity and sensitivity compared to traditional media. It is suitable for clinical, food safety, and environmental applications.

Key Features

1. Selective Chromogenic Medium:
   • Specifically formulated to isolate thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. with minimal interference from competing flora.
   • Reduces false positives due to its high selectivity.
2. Easy Identification:
   • Campylobacter colonies develop an intense red color on a translucent background, making them easy to distinguish.
   • Incubation results are available in 36–48 hours at 42°C under micro-aerophilic conditions.
3. Compliance with ISO Standards:
   • Designed to meet the requirements of ISO 10272-1, a standard for Campylobacter detection in food products, animal feed, and environmental samples.
4. Wide Application Range:
   • Effective for clinical diagnostics, foodborne pathogen testing, and environmental monitoring.
5. Improved Sensitivity and Specificity:
   • Outperforms traditional blood-based or charcoal-based media by offering a clean plate, even with heavily contaminated samples.

Applications

1. Clinical Microbiology:
   • Detection of Campylobacter spp. from rectal swabs and stool samples to aid in diagnosing Campylobacter infections.
2. Food Safety:
   • Detection of Campylobacter contamination in food products such as poultry, dairy, and water.
3. Environmental Testing:
   • Screening for Campylobacter in animal feed and environmental samples for public health and food safety compliance.

How It Works

1. Sample Collection:
   • Use rectal swabs, stool specimens, or food and environmental samples.
2. Inoculation:
   • Streak the sample directly onto the CHROMagar™ Campylobacter plate.
3. Incubation:
   • Incubate under micro-aerophilic conditions at 42°C for 36–48 hours.
4. Result Interpretation:
   • Observe for intense red colonies of Campylobacter spp. on a translucent background.

Advantages

1. Enhanced Selectivity:
   • Clean plates with minimal interference, even from heavily contaminated samples.
2. Clear Results:
   • Easy-to-read intense red colonies for fast and accurate presumptive identification.
3. Rapid Turnaround:
   • Results available in just 36–48 hours, enabling faster decision-making.
4. Versatility:
   • Suitable for use in clinical, foodborne, and environmental testing workflows.
5. ISO Compliant:
   • Meets international standards for Campylobacter detection in food products.

Limitations

• Additional microbiological or molecular testing is required for confirmation or epidemiological typing.
• A lack of growth does not rule out the presence of Campylobacter spp.

Storage and Stability

• Storage Conditions: Store the dehydrated medium in a dry, cool environment at 15–30°C.
• Shelf Life: Refer to product labeling for expiration details.

Why Choose CHROMagar™ Campylobacter?

• Public Health Impact: Facilitates rapid and reliable detection of Campylobacter spp., a major cause of foodborne diarrheal diseases worldwide.
• Advanced Diagnostics: Provides improved sensitivity and specificity compared to traditional media.
• User-Friendly: Chromogenic properties simplify interpretation, reducing errors and improving efficiency.

CHROMagar™ Campylobacter is a cutting-edge tool for detecting Campylobacter spp. in clinical, food safety, and environmental applications, making it essential for laboratories working to address foodborne illnesses and improve public health outcomes.

2. Easy reading: 36-48 h incubation at 42 °C. The intense red colored colonies on a translucent agar facilitates the reading compared to charcoal based agar.

3. High recovery rate : approx. 100 % Enumerating  Campylobacter has never been so simple and so reliable.

Composition

Comparison: CHROMagar™ Campylobacter vs Oxoid™ Campylobacter Agar Base and Oxoid™ Bolton Broth Base

The three media differ significantly in their design, application, and performance for the detection and identification of Campylobacter species, particularly in clinical and food safety workflows.

Strengths of Each Medium

CHROMagar™ Campylobacter:

• Combines detection and differentiation in one step.
• Enhanced specificity with minimal interference from competing flora.
• Direct visual differentiation of species simplifies workflows, reducing the need for secondary testing.

Oxoid™ Campylobacter Agar Base:

• Established method for isolating Campylobacter with flexibility in supplementation.
• Widely used in clinical and food safety testing, providing broad applicability.
• Compatible with various supplements to support diverse testing protocols.

Oxoid™ Bolton Broth Base:

• Pre-enrichment enhances the recovery of injured or stressed cells, critical for food and environmental samples.
• Supports subsequent culture on selective agar for accurate enumeration and identification.
• Essential for testing samples with low bacterial loads.

Limitations

CHROMagar™ Campylobacter:

• Requires micro-aerophilic incubation and careful handling of plates.
• May not recover stressed or low-viability Campylobacter cells as effectively as enrichment broths.

Oxoid™ Campylobacter Agar Base:

• Less specific than chromogenic media; requires confirmatory tests to identify species.
• Slower and less efficient for differentiation of multiple Campylobacter species.

Oxoid™ Bolton Broth Base:

• Cannot provide direct identification; requires additional culturing on selective agar.
• Not suitable for quantifying Campylobacter without subsequent steps.

Recommendation

• For Rapid Detection and Differentiation: Use CHROMagar™ Campylobacter, especially for clinical diagnostics or when time is critical in foodborne outbreak investigations.
• For General Isolation: Use Oxoid™ Campylobacter Agar Base for routine detection when chromogenic differentiation is not required.
• For Enrichment: Use Oxoid™ Bolton Broth Base to enhance recovery from heavily contaminated or low-bacterial-load samples before plating.