Use of a selective medium and a membrane filter method for isolation ofCampylobacter species from Spanish paediatric patients

A study was conducted to assess the value of a combination of two culture methods for isolation ofCampylobacter spp. from Spanish children. Seven hundred twenty-nine diarrhoea] stool specimens from 599 patients were examined forCampylobacter spp. by culturing them on charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar and on blood agar with a membrane filter. One hundred sixteenCampylobacter strains were isolated from a total of 108 specimens; 75 (64.6%) wereCampylobacter jejuni, 32 (27.5%) wereCampylobacter coli, 8 (6.8%) were non-typeable, and one (0.9%) wasCampylobacter upsaliensis. Campylobacters were isolated from 99 positive samples using charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar alone. The filtration technique alone yielded only 86 positive samples. Seven specimens yielded differentCampylobacter spp. with different media. The only catalase-negative strain was recovered using the filter method. The combination of the selective medium with the filter method increased the isolation rate ofCampylobacter strains by 14.1%. Isolation rates of campylobacters using the filter method were similar to those reported in European studies, in which a similar frequency ofCampylobacter upsaliensis was observed. The addition of a filter method for routine laboratory isolation of campylobacters should be considered in selected age groups (in children <10 years of age) or in areas where catalase-negative or weakly-positiveCampylobacter strains may be of epidemiological significance.