Clinical Bacteriology Tests

Clinical Bacteriology Home | Testing Services -

The following table has a listing of many of the organisms processed by this team. The average turnaround time stated is with the understanding that clinical specimens are high priority, and in the event of outbreak situations, the pure cultures referred for identification or confirmation will be delayed until outbreak activities are concluded.

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- A -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Aeromonas species

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

FDA

Afipia species (Cat Scratch Fever)

Identification

Pure culture on blood or chocolate agar slant

12-21 days

 

Isolation and identification

Blood, tissue

12-21 days

 

- B -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Bacillus species

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

10-14 days

 

Bacillus cereus

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

FDA

Bordetella pertussis (Pertussis)

Identification

Pure culture on Regan-Lowe or Bordet-Gengou agar slant

Negative 10 days

Positive 4-6 days, results called

CDC

Isolation from clinical specimen

Nasopharyngeal swab in Regan-Lowe transport, ≤ 3 days may be shipped ambient, > 3 days ship on wet ice

Negative 10 days, positive 4-6 days called to submitter

Bartonella (Cat Scratch fever)

Identification

Pure culture on blood or chocolate agar slant

12-21 days

 

Isolation from clinical specimens

Blood or tissue, frozen at -70˚C and shipped on dry ice or refrigerated at 4˚C and shipped on wet ice.

(SPS is toxic to some Bartonella)

negative 21 days

positive 12-21 days

 

- C -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Campylobacter

Identification

Pure culture on agar blood or chocolate slant, campy gas pack

4-7 days

CDC

Isolation from clinical specimen

Stool specimen in Cary-Blair, on wet ice packs

Blood in blood culture bottle

Negative 3-5 days

Positive 3-7 days

Corynebacterium species

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

4-10 days

 

Corynebacterium diphtheriae

Identification, and toxin testing

Pure culture on agar slant, preferably Loeffler’s

4-7 days

 

Isolation and identification

Swab in Stuart’s transport, Aime's transport, silica gel, or on Loeffler’s slant

2-5 days

Positive results called to submitter

Chlamydia trachomatis

Genetic probe

Swab in GENPROBE transport tube

2-4 days

CDC

Amplified Genetic probe *Limited at present to approved sites

Urine, room temp- 24 hour transport; refrigerated 25-76 hr transport

2-4 days

 

- E -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Escherichia coli

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

 

Escherichia coli O157:H7

Identification and Serotyping; Shiga toxin testing 

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

Serologically O157:H7 results called to submitter

CDC

Isolation, identification, and serotyping; Shiga toxin testing

Stool specimen in Cary-Blair, Aimes, or Stuart's transport, in broth or McCorkey broth on wet ice packs

Shiga toxin producing E. coli (EHEC)

Identification and Serotyping; Shiga toxin testing

Pure culture on agar slant

7-10 days; referred to CDC if necessary

Positive toxin results called to submitter

CDC

Isolation, identification, and serotyping; Shiga toxin testing

Stool specimen in Cary-Blair, Aimes, or Stuart's transport, on wet ice packs; Stool specimens on broth or McCorkey broth, < 7 days old on wet ice packs, > 7 days old on dry ice

Enterococcus species

Identification and serotyping; Antimicrobial susceptibility testing for Vancomycin resistance (Epidemiological data only)

Pure culture on agar slant.

4-10 days

 

 

- F -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Fastidious gram negative or gram positive rods

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

14-21 days

 

 

- H -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Haemophilus influenzae

Identification and serotyping

Pure culture on Chocolate agar slant

4-7 days

 

Haemophilus ducreyi

Identification

Pure culture on chocolate agar slant

10-14 days

 

Identification

Lesion scrapings, urogenital swab from infected area, transported on wet ice

Negative 21 days

Positive 7-21 days

 

- L -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Legionella species

Identification and DFA

Pure culture on BCYE slant

4-7 days

CDC

Isolation and identification

Sputum, bronchial washings, tracheal aspirates, lung biopsy, shipped on wet ice

Culture: Negative 15 days

Positive 3-15 days called to submitter

Listeria species

Identification

Pure cultures on non-glucose containing agar slants

4-7 days

CDC

FDA

Isolation and identification

Blood, CSF, amniotic fluid, placental tissue, fetal tissue; shipped on wet ice within 48 hours of collection

Negative 21 days

Positive 5-14 days called to submitter

 

- N -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Identification , antimicrobial susceptibility studies to ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, tetracycline, and penicillin ( for epidemiological studies only)

Pure cultures on chocolate agar slants

4-7 days

CDC

Isolation and identification, antimicrobial susceptibility studies to ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, tetracycline, and penicillin ( for epidemiological studies only)

Throat, rectum, or other non-urogenital sites, or urogenital swabs on suspected sexual abuse cases submitted on Thayer-Martin, transgrow, or Martin-Lewis media

3-7 days

Neisseria meningitidis

Identification and serotyping

Pure cultures (isolated from sterile sites) on blood or chocolate agar slants

3-7 days

Group C called to submitter

CDC

 

- P -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Pasteurella species

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

7-14 days

 

Plesiomonas shigelloides

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

 

 

- S -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Staphylococcus aureus

Identification, Antimicrobial susceptibility testing for Vancomycin resistance (for epidemiological purposes only), TSST-1 toxin for Toxic Shock syndrome

Pure culture on agar slant.

3-7 days

Toxin positive results called to submitter

CDC

FDA

Isolation and Identification

Stool specimens on wet ice (Outbreak situations only)

2-4 days

Streptococcus Group A

Identification, serogrouping

Pure cultures on agar slants

3-7 days

CDC

Isolation and Identification, and serogrouping

Throat swabs in Stuart's or Aime's transport. (Outbreak situations only)

2-4 days

Streptococcus Group B

Identification, serogrouping

Pure cultures on agar slants

3-7 days

CDC

Isolation, identification, and serogrouping

Vaginal swabs

2-4 days

Positive results called to submitter

 

- V -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Vibrio cholerae O1

Identification and seortyping

Pure culture on agar slant

2-7 days

Positive called to submitter within 48 hours

FDA

Isolation, identification, and serotyping

Stool specimen in Cary-Blair on wet ice

2-10 days

Positive called to submitter

Vibrio cholerae non-O1

Identification and seortyping

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

FDA

Isolation, identification, and serotyping

Stool specimen in Cary-Blair on wet ice

2-7 days

Positive called to submitter

Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

FDA

Vibrio vulnificus

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

CDC

FDA

Vibrio sp.

Identification

Pure culture on agar slant

4-7 days

 

 

- Y -

 

 

 

Organism

Testing offered

What and How to Submit

Expected turnaround time for results

Additional Information

Yersinia enterocolitica and other species

Identification

Pure cultures on agar slants

4-7 days

FDA

Isolation, identification

Stool in Cary-Blair, Stuart, or Aime's transport, on wet ice

4-7 days