[Evaluation of the usefulness of tests for production of Beta-D-glucuronidase and propylene glycol utilization for the differentiation of enterobacteriaceae rods].

The aim of the study was to inquire about the diagnostic usefulness of determining the activity of glucuronidase and utilisation of propylene glycol in Enterobacteriaceae rods. The study included 1511 strains: 411- E. coli, 278 - Klebsiella, 231 - Salmonella, 159 - Yersinia, 97 - Citrobacter, 75 - Shigella and 260 strains representing 6 other kinds of enteric rods. Determination was performed in a liquid medium containing in 1 ml 25 mcg MUG and 100 mcg ONPG. Propylene glycol (PG) utilisation was observed in peptone water with 2% of the substrate and with the Andrade indicator. In comparative tests Rambach commercial medium and MacConkey agar from the Fluorocult series were used. In the test with MUG a positive result was obtained from 81.8% E. coli, 65% - Shigella and 13% - Salmonella subgenus I. Only exceptionally was this test positive with Providencia, Enterobacter and Yersinia strains (1-5%) but negative with Citrobacter, Klebsiella, Serratia, Hafnia, Proteus and Morganella strains. Glucuronidase production is not sufficiently characteristic of E. coli strains isolated from humans to be the only basis for the preliminary differentiation of these rods from other Enterobacteriaceae. The test with ONPG was positive from 95-100% E. coli, Yersinia, Citrobacter, Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Hafnia strains; 61% - Shigella, 9% - Salmonella and 3% - Providencia, but negative with Serratia, Proteus and Morganella strains. Propylene glycol was decomposed by 74% Salmonella strains of subgenus I, 65-94% - Klebsiella, Yersinia and Citrobacter. Shigella, Enterobacter, Serratia, Proteus, Providencia and Morganella rods did not decompose propylene glycol. Evidence that among strains non-decomposing propylene glycol were all the studied S. typhi, S. paratyphi A, S. paratyphi C, S. choleraesuis, S. virchow and S. gallinarum strains as well as a significant percentage of strains representing 8 other Salmonella serotypes frequently detected allows to believe that the use of activity against propylene glycol even simultaneously with the test for galactosidase as basis for the differentiation of Salmonella rods of subgenus I from other Enterobacteriaceae can lead to errors already at the onset of diagnostic procedure.