Sucrose teepol tellurite agar: a new selective indicator medium for isolation of Vibrio species.

Sucrose teepol tellurite (STT) agar is a more successful medium in positive-recognition palting procedures than thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar because STT agar yields higher isolation of typical colonies of Vibrio cholerae, which directly agglutinate in antiserum to V. cholerae, from patients and contacts infected with this organism. STT agar has a simple composition and, like TCBS agar, needs no sterilization. STT agar is highly selective for V. cholerae, nonagglutinating vibrios, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Growth of these bacteria from diarrhetic stool, from rectal swabs, and from stock cultures was compared on different media.