Evaluation of S. aureus ID, a new chromogenic agar medium for detection of Staphylococcus aureus

S. aureus ID (bioMérieux, La Balme Les Grottes, France) is a new chromogenic agar medium designed to enable the isolation of staphylococci and the specific identification of Staphylococcus aureus. S. aureus produces green colonies on this medium due to production of α-glucosidase. To evaluate this medium, a total of 350 wound swabs were cultured onto S. aureus ID, CHROMagar Staph. aureus, and conventional media routinely used in our laboratory. After 18 to 20 h of incubation, 96.8% of strains formed green colonies on S. aureus ID compared with 91.1% of strains forming mauve colonies on CHROMagar Staph. aureus. A total of 94.3% of strains were recovered within 18 to 20 h with conventional media. The sensitivity was increased after 48 h of incubation to 98.7, 96.2, and 95.6% with S. aureus ID, CHROMagar Staph. aureus, and conventional media, respectively. A total of 97.4% of green colonies on S. aureus ID were confirmed as S. aureus compared with 94.4% of mauve colonies on CHROMagar Staph. aureus. We conclude that S. aureus ID is a highly sensitive and specific medium for the isolation and identification of S. aureus from wound swabs.