Evaluation of three techniques for carbohydrate fermentation of Neisseriae.

Three different techniques to study carbohydrate fermentation by Neisseriae were compared using 226 strains: growth in semi-solid cystine trypticase agar, the rapid test in phosphate buffered solutions of carbohydrates and growth on slants of solid cystine trypticase agar. The latter method was found to be the easiest to perform and is more suited for smaller laboratories, since the media used may be stored for at least 2 months.