New method of serotyping Escherichia coli: mathematical development.

A mathematical analysis of serological data has provided the basis for a new serotyping routine. This paper describes the process whereby the results of agglutination reactions between the standard O antigens of Escherichia coli and rabbit antisera raised against them were used to produce a much simpler, faster, and cheaper method of serotyping. This new method for serotyping E. coli requires on average only one-fifth of the serum used in the previous method and requires less than half the laboratory time. By using this method, an efficient serotyping routine can be established for any set of comparable data regardless of the bacterial group.