Selective medium for the isolation and enumeration of Klebsiella spp.

A highly selective medium for the enumeration and isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca was developed in which the typical colonies were convex and 1 to 2 mm in diameter. Their pigment was either a mucoid pink-red color or a more watery pale red with a dark red center. Relatively little colonial growth occurred for any other bacterial genera, and where such colonies did grow, they could be easily differentiated since the form was atypical. The medium already appears to have potential value as a means of assessing the efficiency of treating sewage and monitoring the microbiological quality of vegetables.