Abstract
The family Streptococcaceae is divided into five genera in Bergey's Manual (1974): Streptococcus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, Aerococcus and Gemella. The genus Streptococcus is a relatively large group of organisms. They are spherical microorganisms, characteristically arranged in chains and distributed in nature. Some are members of normal human and animal flora, and others are responsible for a variety of diseases of man, animals and fish, and some are saprophytes found in milk and dairy products.
Three general criteria, haemolysis, antigenic structure and biochemical characteristics are useful in identification and classification of streptococci.
The API 20 STREP system was applied and evaluated for the identification of streptococci isolated from diseased fish and stoc strains. By this system, stoc strains were identified, but clinical isolates remained unidentified.
