Latex agglutination for the detection of Campylobacter species in water

A commercially available sensitized latex suspension could detect viable (102organisms/ml) or heat‐killed Campylobacter jejuni. Cross‐reactions with other Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter pylori were only seen with suspensions > 105organisms/ml. In laboratory microcosms, C. jejuni remained viable for 16 d at 4°C but latex detected antigen for at least 6 months. In water from a sewagecontaminated lake, the latex gave results comparable with culture for C. jejuni but much more rapidly. Culture‐negative water supplies in chicken sheds containing campylobacter‐colonized birds were shown to be sometimes latex‐positive.