Elek's gel precipitation test is used for detecting of toxins of which of the following organism?
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
Neisseria meningitidis
Streptococcus pneumoniae
All the above
It is an in vitro test for diphtheria. A rectangular strip of filter paper impregnated with diphtheria antitoxin is placed on the surface of 20% normal horse serum agar in a petri dish while the medium is still fluid. If horse serum is not available, sheep / rabbit serum may be used. When the agar has set, the surface is dried and narrow streaks of the strains are made at right angles to the filter paper strip. A positive and negative control should be set up. The plate is incubated at 37 degree for 24-48 hrs. Toxins produced by the bacterial growth will diffuse in agar and where it meets the antitoxin at optimum concentration will produce a line of precipitation. This precipitation lines indicate the strain is toxigenic. Ref: Ananthanarayanan & paniker's 8th ed Page 236.