Comparison of APHA and elevated temperature enrichment methods for recovery of Vibrio cholerae from oysters: collaborative study.

Two methods (the American Public Health Association (APHA) method and the elevated temperature method) for recovery of Vibrio cholerae from oysters were compared in a collaborative study. Oysters were inoculated with high (about 150 cells/g) and low (about 20 cells/g) levels of V. cholerae. The elevated temperature method gave a significantly higher (P less than 0.05) recovery rate and showed greater specificity (P less than 0.01), as determined by the confirmation rate of suspect colonies. The elevated temperature method required only 25% of the labor and materials necessary for the APHA method. The elevated temperature method has been adopted official first action.