Thermo Scientific Limited has launched a new improved Streptococcal Grouping Kit that enhances the extraction and detection of group D antigen from enterococcal organisms. The improvements are particularly evident with vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE).

Pathogenic streptococci possess specific carbohydrate antigens that permit their classification into Lancefield groups - A, B, C, D, F and G. In the past, a minority of vancomycin resistant Group D enterococcal organisms have resulted in false negative or weak reactions. This is because VREs contain significant alterations to cell wall structure, making them more resistant to the extraction of the group D antigen.

The new Thermo Scientific Streptococcal Grouping Kit and the Thermo Scientific Dryspot Streptococcal Grouping Kit incorporate a new, improved enzyme extraction reagent that significantly improves the sensitivity of the kits for group D organisms.

In trials, the Thermo Scientific Streptococcal Grouping Kit and the Thermo Scientific Dryspot Streptococcal Grouping Kit demonstrated 92.0% sensitivity and 99.8% specificity, and 92.0% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity respectively for group D streptococci. The overall performance of the Thermo Scientific Kits was equivalent to, or better than, alternative products.