Comparison between VIDAS automatic enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay and culture method for Salmonella recovery from pork carcass sponge samples.

VIDAS Salmonella (VIDAS-SLM) is an automated system that uses the enzyme-linked fluorescent assay method to detect Salmonella species. This study evaluated the efficacy of the VIDAS-SLM method in detecting Salmonella species in pork carcass sponge samples gathered from 10 slaughter plants in Taiwan. Two hundred fifty-seven pork carcass sponge samples were screened by the VIDAS-SLM method and by the culture method in parallel. While 18 sponge samples were found to test positive by both methods, the VIDAS-SLM method detected four additional positive samples for which the culture method failed to recover Salmonella. The specificity of the VIDAS-SLM method was found to be 0.98, and its sensitivity was 1.0, since no false-negative results occurred. Artificially inoculated Salmonella at concentrations as low as 5.0 x 10(0) CFU/ml was detected in the heat-inactivated sponge sample in the presence or absence of 5.0 x 10(4) CFU of Citrobacter freundii per ml. Thus, the VIDAS-SLM method is a rapid screening method and a potential alternative to the time- and labor-intensive culture method.