| Summary: | Abstract
Cronobacter spp. are opportunistic foodborne pathogens associated with infections
in neonates and infants, particularly those that are premature or immunocompromised.
Outbreaks of Cronobacter infections in infants have been epidemiologically
linked to the consumption of contaminated powdered infant formulae. Since the
designation of Enterobacter sakazakii (now Cronobacter spp.) as a unique species in
1980, a number of methods have been proposed for its detection and identification.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare different tools used for the
identification of presumptive Cronobacter isolates. The bioMérieux API 20E biochemical
bacterial identification kit (Omnimed (Pty), Randburg, Gauteng, South
Africa) was shown not to be a reliable identification tool for the Cronobacter strains
examined in the current study, since it gave false-positive results. The API 50CHE
biochemical kit was shown to be more reliable giving similar results to the polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) detection and DNA sequence data. The primer pair
Esakf/Esakr proved to be the most reliable PCR identification tool.Additional differentiating
traits and antibiotic patterns were demonstrated for Cronobacter species in
the current study.
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