Use of supplemented Stainer-Scholte broth for the isolation of Bordetella pertussis from clinical material.

The use of Stainer-Scholte broth supplemented with (2,6-O-dimethyl)beta-cyclodextrin (heptakis) for the isolation of Bordetella pertussis from clinical specimens was evaluated with 3,632 nasal swabs from children and adults with suspected whooping cough or from their family contacts. The liquid enrichment medium was subcultured on charcoal agar with 10% defibrinated horse blood. Charcoal agar and soft charcoal agar served as the standard procedure to detect B. pertussis. We isolated 772 strains of B. pertussis (21%). Charcoal agar alone detected 87% of all strains (n = 668), soft charcoal agar grew 78% (n = 602), and 637 strains (83%) were isolated when Stainer-Scholte broth with heptakis was used. We detected 590 isolates with all three media. Whereas 65 strains grew only on charcoal agar, 27 strains were detected by soft charcoal agar. Supplemented Stainer-Scholte broth allowed the isolation of an additional 77 strains which did not primarily grow on charcoal media (P less than 0.05). Our data indicate that Stainer-Scholte medium supplemented with heptakis can be effectively used as an enrichment medium for detection of B. pertussis in clinical specimens.