Efficient Isolation of Campylobacteria from Stools

Engberg et al. (2) compared selective media and filtration for the efficient isolation of campylobacteria from stools. Since 1977, we have routinely isolated campylobacters from the diarrhetic stools of pediatric patients at the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. In 1990, the use of antibiotic-containing plates was discontinued, and the Cape Town protocol, the first to combine both membrane filtration onto antibiotic-free blood agar plates and incubation in an H2-enhanced microaerobic atmosphere (3), was introduced.