Evaluation of a New Selective Medium, BD BBL CHROMagar MRSA II, for Detection of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Stool Specimens

We compared the recovery of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on a new selective chromogenic agar, BD BBL CHROMagar MRSA II (CMRSAII), to that on traditional culture media with 293 stool specimens. The recovery of MRSA was greater on the CMRSAII agar. Screening of stool samples can identify patients who were previously unknown carriers of MRSA.