A MODIFIED ANAEROGENTM SYSTEM FOR GROWTH OF CAMPYLOBACTER SPP

A simple, rapid procedure to generate an oxygen-reduced atmosphere suitable for growing Campylobacter jejuni was investigated. A modified AnaeroGen^TM system (MAS), consisting of a single AnaeroGen^TM anaerobic sachet AM35 (Oxoid Unipath Ltd., Basingstoke, UK) activated in a 9 L anaerobic jar (BBL, Cockeysville, MD), was evaluated and compared with the conventional gassed jar system described in the 8th edition of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM). Enriched cultures of C. jejuni (six replicates at each of five inoculum levels: 10^-2 to 10² cfu/mL in artificially contaminated raw milk, raw oyster, crab meat, or mushroom were streaked in duplicate onto four different selective isolation agars for simultaneous incubation in MAS and in the BAM system. No significant differences (p > 0. 05) in recovery rates of C. jejuni were observed for the two systems. The type of isolation agar used did not affect these recovery rates. The quality of growth of C. jejuni at 24, 48 or 72 h was similar in both systems. MAS successfully reduced atmospheric oxygen to a level suitable for the growth of C. jejuni. It was simple and rapid compared to the BAM system, and cost-effective compared to the Oxoid CampyGen^TM system specifically designed for the growth of Campylobacter spp.