Thermo Scientific™ K-F Streptococcus Agar (Dehydrated)

Description

• Isolate and enumerate enterococci in food, milk, water and environmental samples with selective Thermo Scientific™ Oxoid™ K-F Streptococcus Agar (Dehydrated) by pour-plate or membrane filtration method
• The presence of enterococci in the material under test is indicative of fecal pollution by man or animals
• K-F Streptococcus Agar is based on the formula described by Kenner et.al
• 1 and is selective for Group D and Group Q enterococci
• The natural habitat of fecal streptococci is the gastrointestinal tract of warm-blooded animals
• The enterococcus subgroup of fecal streptococcus is a valuable bacteriological indicator for determining the extent of fecal contamination of recreational surface waters
• The detection of enterococci in the samples provides more specific information about the source of pollution because enteroccoi are host specific
• For example, a predominance of Enterococcus bovis and Enterococcus equinus would indicate pollution due to animal excrement
• The detection of Enterococcus bovis and Enterococcus equinus species has been found to be associated with pollution involving meat processing plants, dairy wastes and feedlot and farmland run-off
• The detection of these enterococcal species is indicative of recent contamination as the organisms survive for only a short period outside their natural habitat
• The coliform/enterococci ratios may also provide information on possible sources of pollution 2
• Caution must be observed when assessing the quality of marine recreational waters, particularly in tropical climates, because a high incidence of false-positive presumptive counts for enterococci may occur
• Anaerobic incubation of tropical marine water samples is recommended 3
• Colonies of enterococci on the membrane filter or agar plate are red or pink with a variation in diameter from 0.3 to 2mm
• It is recommended that counting should be done with the aid of a low power (10-15 magnification) binocular wide field dissecting microscope or equivalent optical device
• KF Streptococcus Agar Medium is selective for the following Group D and Group Q species
• Enterococcus group Enterococcus fecalis Group D Enterococcus subsp
• liquefaciens Group D Enterococcus fecalis subsp
• zymogenes Group D Enterococcus faecium Group D Enterococcus bovis Group D Enterococcus equinus Group D Streptococcus avium Group Q Streptococcus avium (Group Q) has been included in the `enterococci’ group as it has very similar biochemical and antigenic characteristics to the Group D species and also occurs in warm-blooded animals
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• Remel™ and Oxoid™ products are now part of the Thermo Scientific brand.