Serogroup identification of Neisseria meningitidis: comparison of an antiserum agar method with bacterial slide agglutination.

A serum agar method for serogrouping Neisseria meningitidis is described and compared with conventional bacterial slide agglutination. There was 93% agreement for 300 strains examined individually by each method. Among strains from serogroups A, B, C, Y, and W135, there was 100% correlation, whereas strains from serogroup 29E (Z') had only 67% correlation. The serum agar method was rapid, as well as easy to perform and interpret. The potential benefits of this method for epidemiological studies and reference laboratories processing large numbers of meningococcal isolates are emphasized.