Rapid identification of pathogenic species of Neisseria by carbohydrate degradation tests. Importance of glucose in media used for preparation of inocula.

Pathogenic species of Neisseria were identified more readily by carbohydrate degradation tests when 0.5% glucose was used in media from which inocula for the test were obtained. This improved the performance of both non-growth and growth-dependent methods for these tests. One of the three techniques used a non-nutrient buffered salt solution and depended on the presence of preformed enzymes. This test was more accurate and rapid than the two growth-dependent techniques.