Using the mini-VIDAS(®) Easy Salmonella protocol to assess contamination in transitional and coastal waters.

Classical methodologies for Salmonella detection may be too long in time to assure public safety. Presently, one of the fastest assays for Salmonella detection using the mini-VIDAS(®) system is the Easy Salmonella protocol. This assay, developed for food matrixes analysis, was here assessed for the applicability on the detection of these bacteria in transitional and saltwaters. The presence of Salmonella was detected in 4.2 % of the samples studied. In these transitional waters, the proposed protocol presented an efficiency of 79.1 %, due to a high false positive rate (20.8 %), and a false negative rate of 0 %-implying reducing analysis time, the use of enrichment broths, and making it more cost effective. Despite the multitude of samples nature, the method here described revealed to be an efficient and promising tool for transitional waters analysis.