Clinical Evaluation of Selective Enrichment Broth for Detection of ^|^beta;-Hemolytic Streptococcus in Throat Culture of Children

β-hemolytic streptococci, particularly members of Strebtococcus bvogenes, are important pathogens which cause various acute infections and post-streptococcal diseases. It is not uncommon that organisms of S. pyogenes are isolated from the throat of apparently healthy children. Therefore, the etiologic significance of a small number of S. pyogenes detected from children with symptoms of upper respiratory infections has not been determined yet. Thus there have been few laboratories which use a selective enrichment broth for detection of S. pyogenes.We made a clinical evaluation on the employment of a selective enrichment broth (SEB, Nissui Seiyaku) in detecting S. pyogenes from throat specimens of children, who visited the outpatient clinic at our hospital. It was observed that even a small number of S. pyogenes only detectable by employment of the SEB showed an etiologic relationship with the disease. The results indicated the usefulness of the SEB for culturing throat specimens from the children.