Is a positive Christie-Atkinson-Munch-Peterson (CAMP) test sensitive enough for the identification of Streptococcus agalactiae?

BACKGROUND: For a long time, the Christie-Atkinson-Munch-Peterson (CAMP) test has been a standard test for the identification of Streptococcus agalactiae, and a positive result for S.agalactiae has been considered sensitive enough. METHODS: To confirm whether a positive CAMP test is a requirement for the identification of S.agalactiae, five suspected CAMP-negative S.agalactiae isolates from two hospitals, confirmed as Gram-positive and catalase-negative streptococci, were verified by the CAMP test in three batches of plates from two manufacturers and identified by the Phoenix system, MALDI-TOF MS, the PCR assay and the 16S rDNA gene sequencing. RESULTS: All five suspected strains were S.agalactiae, four of which were CAMP-negative and one of which was not S.agalactiae by the PCR assay. CONCLUSIONS: A positive CAMP test was lacking sensitivity for the identification of S.agalactiae, and the question of whether the cfb gene is worthy of targeting should be further studied.