Rapid screening method for enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

A rapid screening method for detection of Escherichia coli producing heat-labile enterotoxin is described. Single colonies are transferred directly from primary culture plates into 96-well microculture plates containing 0.3 ml of brain heart infusion broth in each well. After 24 h at 37 degrees C, each brain heart infusion broth culture is assayed by the miniculture method in the corresponding well of a microculture plate in which Y-1 mouse adrenal tumor cells have been grown. All enterotoxigenic isolates detected by this method were confirmed in the assay but with culture supernatants.