Identification of streptococcal groups A,B,C, and G by slide co-agglutination of antibody-sensitized protein A-containing staphylococci.

A total of 98.7% of streptococci, groups A,B,C, and G, isolated from various sources was correctly identified by the co-agglutination technique. The active components in this technique are protein A-containing staphylococci coated with antibodies specific for group A,B,C, and G streptococci. A suspension of streptococci belonging to one of these four groups co-agglutinates with the antibody-sensitized staphylococci specific for this group. The technique is extremely rapid and simple and requires no special equipment. It should therefore be a valuable alternative to other techniques used in the grouping of streptococci and is shown here to be as reliable as the Lancefield technique.