Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research

Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2005

Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr

© 2005 International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Pitfalls in the routine diagnosis of Staphylococcus aureus

C.S.S. Bello and A. Qahtani

Department of Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 641, Abha. Saudi Arabia.

Accepted 15 November, 2004

Abstract

Two hundred isolates of Presumed Staphylococcus aureus from routine clinical specimens, collected from two government hospitals in Abha, Saudi Arabia, had their identity verified. We used the tube coagulase test as our gold standard. Twenty (10%) of the isolates were mis-identified. Reliance by the two laboratories on DNase test, Mannitol fermentation reaction and improper performance of the coagulase test, were responsible for the mis-diagnosis.