Abstract
Two inexpensive screening tests were evaluated singly and in tandem for distinguishing Neisseria gonorrhoeae from other oxidase-positive microorganisms growing on selective gonococcal media. In tests of 728 cultures, including 460 N. gonorrhoeae, 4 Neisseria lactamica, 257 Neisseria meningitidis, and 7 Branhamella catarrhalis, both Superoxol (30% H2O2; J. T. Baker Chemical Co., Phillipsburg, N.J.) and amylase inhibition tests were 100% sensitive (positive) for 20-h cultures of N. gonorrhoeae. Singly, the Superoxol test was 92.7% specific for N. gonorrhoeae, compared with a specificity of 82.3% for the amylase inhibition test. By using tandem screening tests to distinguish gonococci, we achieved an overall specificity of 98.6%. Group A meningococci were the primary source of error in the Superoxol test, with 97% (37 of 38) strains producing gonococcal like reactions for catalase. From 5 to 20% of N. meningitidis serogroups X, Y, Z, and Z' and nontypable strains, as well as about 50% of B. catarrhalis and N. lactamica strains, were also strong catalase producers.
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