Salmonella Reference Unit

Information and advice

• Salmonella spp. identification
• Salmonella phage typing
• Sources and occurrence of Salmonella spp.

Services provided

• Serotyping of all Salmonella spp.
• Phage typing for Salmonella enterica serotypes Typhi, Paratyphi A and B, Paratyphi B var. Java, Agona, Enteritidis, Hadar, Pullorum, Thompson, Typhimurium, Virchow.
• Serodiagnosis of infection with: Salmonella Typhi , Salmonella Paratyphi A , Salmonella Paratyphi B , Salmonella Paratyphi C
• Supply of phage-typing reagents to WHO-affiliated reference laboratories and to Enter-net affiliated laboratories within the European Union.
• Training in phage-typing techniques for staff from the above laboratories.
• Monitoring of resistance to antimicrobial drugs of therapeutic and epidemiological relevance;
• Investigation of the genetic basis of antibiotic resistance in enteric bacteria;
• Development and use of new and improved electrophoretic, DNA probe- and PCR-based molecular methods to supplement serotyping and phage typing for outbreak investigations.

How to obtain Salmonella Reference Services

• Identification and phage typing
  Suspect Salmonella cultures sould be submitted on solid nutrient agar or Dorset's egg slopes in screw-capped containers and accompanied by the relevant request form.
• Serodiagnosis
  Send a minimum of 200µl of serum for the full test.
• Urgent submissions
  Advise the Unit by telephone of any urgent specimen that is being dispatched to the Unit.

For further information on laboratory services see the LGP Laboratory User Manual. PDF copies of Laboratory User Manuals and Referral Request Forms are available from the LGP downloads page, or contact Elizabeth De Pinna on 0208 3276136.