New Formulation Thermo Scientific CampyGen™ Allows Faster Diagnosis of Campylobacter Food Poisoning

With the summertime barbeque season now in full swing, the number of food poisoning incidences tends to increase. The UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a target to reduce the incidence of food-borne disease by 20% by April 2006. According to the FSA, Campylobacter is the greatest challenge as far as this target is concerned and although it is accepted that there may be a number of routes by which humans are exposed to this organism there is strong evidence that the most significant foodstuff is chicken. Clinical laboratories can therefore expect to see an increased number of samples over the summer months. New formulation CampyGen™ from Thermo Scientific provides Campylobacter with the optimum growing conditions in just 1 hour. This will improve growth rates and colony size thus allowing for faster diagnosis.

Campylobacter are microaerophilic organisms, requiring an atmosphere containing approximately 6% oxygen and 10-15% carbon dioxide for optimal growth. An easy way to achieve the correct balance of gas is to use Thermo Scientific's CampyGen™ that rapidly absorbs oxygen and produces carbon dioxide¹.

The recently modified CampyGen™ formulation allows for faster oxygen absorption and reduces the time taken to achieve the optimal oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration to less than one hour.

This simple, quick and clean system is available for use in 2.5 L and 3.5L anaerobic jars and also in a Compact format that is ideal for evening and weekend samples. CampyGen™ Compact's transparent pouch allows plates to be observed for growth at any time, without affecting the culture of slower growing organisms.

To find out more please contact Jennifer Laidlaw, Thermo Scientific:
T: +44 (0) 1256 841144
F: +44 (0) 1256 329728
E: oxoid@oxoid.com
Web: www.oxoid.com

References
1) Skirrow, M.B. (1977) Br. Med, J. 2nd July, 9-11
2) FSA Study, reported in: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1493558.stm
3) CDR Weekly, PHLS, www.phls.org.uk/publications/cdr/pages/enteric.html