Abstract: | The addition of feces to selenite broth significantly enhanced the ability of this medium to select for salmonellae in an environment initially containing overwhelming numbers of coliform bacteria. Either heat-sterilized or Seitz-filtered feces produced this effect. In most experiments, the selectivity of selenite broth was unaffected by unsterile feces. Human blood and plasma markedly reduced selenite efficiency. In a base medium supporting both coliform and Shigella growth, heat-sterilized feces imposed a measure of selectivity for Shigella. |