A simple and practical test for the identification of
Bacteroides fragilis
is described. It utilizes two well-known properties of this species, i.e., stimulation of growth by bile and resistance to kanamycin. The test media are a tryptic-soy bile agar plate and a supplemented blood agar plate on which a kanamycin 1,000-μg/ml disk is placed. Incubation is for 24 h at 37 C in GasPak. The results of screening 190 strains, mostly clinical isolates, indicate that
B. fragilis
can be easily and reliably distinguished from other
Bacteroides
and from
Fusobacterium
species by its growth on tryptic-soy bile agar and resistance to kanamycin.
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