An evaluation of Rappaport's magnesium chloride/malachite green medium in the routine examination of faeces

Rappaport's magnesium chloride/malachite green medium was employed in the cultural examination of 2476 faecal specimens in parallel with selenite F broth enrichment and direct plate culture on deoxycholate citrate agar. The use of the medium increased the salmonella isolation rate by 26% over the number of isolations from the other two methods, but proved of no additional value in the isolation of shigella organisms. The addition of Rappaport medium is recommended in routine faecal examination.