Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare inclusivity and exclusivity of the Salmonella Multiplex assay against two commercially available real-time PCR assays designed to detect S. Enteritidis, only, or S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium concurrently from food samples.
Methods: Total of 196 Salmonella isolates including 60 Salmonella spp., 38 S. Enteritidis and 68 S. Typhimurium strains and 30 non-target strains were analyzed during the study. In addition, samples were lysed prior to PCR and analyzed with Salmonella Multiplex assay as detailed in the manual. The alternative assays were performed on the same panel of isolates according to the manufacturers' instructions.
Results: The Salmonella Multiplex assay proved to be the most accurate method of the three assays tested. Every assay tested returned a false positive result with Salmonella Blegdam, Salmonella Moscow and Salmonella Nitra isolates. The Salmonella Multiplex assay demonstrated superior specificity for all S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium and Salmonella species isolates tested; whereas, alternative assay A failed to detect one S. Enteritidis isolate and alternative assay B incorrectly identified Salmonella Dublin and Salmonella Gallinarum as S. Enteritidis.
Significance: The study demonstrated that the RapidFinder™ Salmonella Multiplex Kit provides a more reliable workflow for the detection and differentiation of Salmonella spp., S. Enteritidis, and S. Typhimurium than the other two commercially available real-time PCR assays.