Update on diagnostic techniques of “salmonella spp”

Salmonellosis is an intestinal infection caused by Gram-negative bacteria of the Salmonella genus, which has a high prevalence worldwide. It is a zoonotic bacterium that has the ability to spread between animals and humans, colonizes the intestine and is excreted through feces, this being the main vector of contamination. In order to identify Salmonella spp in a level 2 laboratory, there are different types of traditional and automated techniques, each with different sensitivity and specificity. Traditional techniques include culture media that generate sensitivity and specificity greater than 90%, among these are: BBL CHROMagar, CHROMagar plus and XLT4, their main advantage being their simple processing and low cost. On the other hand, automated Molecular Biology techniques such as PCR, C-PCR, qPCR, rtPCR-IMS, and multiplex PCR have a shorter response time, but the cost of their implementation is high. Other methods such as colorimetric (VITEK 2 compact) and the API 20E numerical system are also used. Therefore, the advancement of science in the area of diagnosis has made Molecular Biology techniques become the Gold Standard tests for the detection of different analytes and pathogens. This bibliographic review summarizes the different culture media and diagnostic methods used for the identification of Salmonella spp, their characteristics and their degree of sensitivity and specificity.