Paper-disc method for Campylobacter hippurate-hydrolysis test. A note.

Paper discs were impregnated with sodium hippurate dissolved in 1/15 phosphate buffer pH 7.2. The discs, each containing 2 mg substrate, were stored in dry state at room temperature. After adding a disc to bacteria suspended in distilled water, and incubated at 37 degrees C for 2 h, one drop of Skirrow and Benjamin's ninhydrin reagent was added and the reaction was read after re-incubation at 37 degrees C for 10 min. 169 campylobacter strains were tested. The results for a total of 169 strains were identical with those obtained with the modified rapid method of Skirrow and Benjamin. Of 92 campylobacter strains isolated from human faecal samples 59.8%, of 36 strains isolated from slaughtered poultry 41.7% proved to be Campylobacter jejuni.