Evaluation of Minibact, a new system for rapid identification of Enterobacteriaceae. Comparison of Minibact, Micro-ID and API 20E with a conventional method as reference.

Minibact, a new system for four-hour identification of Enterobacteriaceae, combined with a computer identification system, was compared with Micro-ID and API 20E in testing 110 strains of Enterobacteriaceae. Minibact gave identification rates of 96.4% at species level and 96.4% at genus level; the corresponding values for Micro-ID were 87.3% and 91.8%, and for API 20E 91.8% and 94.5%. In conclusion, Minibact combined with a computer identification program gave high identification rates fully comparable to those of Micro-ID and API 20E, and the system might be an alternative to conventional identification systems in clinical microbiological departments.