Use of Immunofluorescence to Identify Clostridium botulinum Types A, B, and E

THE DETECTION of Clostridium botu¬ linum in food or cultures usually requires the demonstration of toxin by mouse inoculation and the identification of toxic type by mouse protection tests using the specific antitoxins.Since cultural and animal tests are very time consuming, there is a need for specific, more rapid methods to detect C. botulinum in food.The fluorescent antibody (FA) technique has been useful in the rapid identification of pathogens (/).If a specific FA method could be developed for detecting C. botulinum organisms, it would greatly facilitate examination of food and cultures.A search of the relevant literature showed interesting and varied findings.Kalitina (2), using a fluorescein-labeled antiserum prepared against a formalinized culture of C. botulinum type A, found that all types of C. botulinum organisms were stained but none of the other species tested were stained.Bulatova and Kabanova (3) found that only types A and B were stained by fluorescein-labeled antiserum