ssA Agar is a proprietary formulation of BD Life Sciences–Integrated Diagnostic Solutions and incorporates several selective agents to effectively suppress indigenous throat flora. The recommended protocol for processing throat cultures includes plating on ssA and incubating in an atmosphere enriched with CO2 for 18–24 hours. Rapid, presumptive identification of Streptococcus pyogenes is obtained with ssA Agar when a zone of inhibition is observed around a Taxo™ A disc incubated on the medium.