Simplified 48-hour IMVic test: an agar plate method.

An agar plate method was developed for the performance of the IMVic (indole, methyl red, Voges-Proskauer, and citrate) tests in lieu of the conventional tubed liquid media. By modifying the composition of the media and adding agar, a single "X"-compartmented petri dish was prepared containing all four IMVic test media. Ease of performance and simplification of the test were achieved by inoculating all four media simultaneously from a single colony (single inoculum) on eosin-methylene blue agar. Tests with 87 cultures, representing 7 genera in the family Enterobacteriaceae, were completed with typical (correct) IMVic patterns for all cultures within 48 h. Parallel tests with conventional media showed that the agar plate method was superior, more sensitive, faster, and simpler to perform, and less time was required to identify Escherichia coli by 72 h.