Ricerca di salmonella enterica in campioni naturalmente contaminati : Applicazione del sistema VIDAS SLM (enzyme linked fluorescent immunoassay)

The Vitek Immunodiagnostic Assay System for the detection of Salmonella in naturally contaminated samples coming from different sources has been compared to a reference cultural method. The 895 samples analysed are the following: 382 samples of superficial water, 432 samples of foodstuffs, 42 samples of pharmaceutical active principles, 33 environment samples, and 6 coprocultures. The system sensitivity percentage has been 100%. Its specificity has varied according to the sources; the two systems have given the most similar results with microbe slightly contaminated samples. Thanks to these results, the VIDAS SLM system can be considered an excellent screening method for negative samples. Its specificity should be appropriately estimated referring to methods such as the immunomagnetic separation and DNA amplification.