Tag: microbiology

New Product Friday–Alifax SPA

Using light scattering technology to identify bacteria has been around for a few years (as evidenced by this paper from 2009 and this article from 2006. The methodology described in these articles use actual bacterial colony growth on conventional media for identification. This only shaves a day off turnaround time. This is handy, but can we do any better?

Enter Alifax SPA. They claim to have an automated analyzer capable detecting the presence of pathogenic bacteria, quantifying (in CFU/ml) that bacteria, and measuring the drug resistance of that organism in a few hours by using light scattering technology. Those techs that have worked in hematology or urinalysis are no stranger to this type of analyzer, but how well does it translate to the world of microbiology?

Does anyone have any experience with the HB&L or the Alfred 60? How do you feel about these analyzer? Do you like this much automation in the microbiology laboratory? Let us know in the comments.

-Kelly Swails

 

 

 

I’ll Have Pasteurized Milk, Please

Recently officials determined the cause of death of a young mother in Las Vegas: tuberculosis. The family Mycobacteriaceae contains several pathogenic species, including the most famous, M. tuberculosis. While none of the articles I read mention the species, they do mention the patient consumed unpasteurized dairy products, which leads me to believe she died of the zoonotic organism M. bovis.

Since these organisms are recovered infrequently, clinical microbiologists should brush up on the basics of these organisms on occasion. The CDC has some general information on Tuberculosis; the illustrious contributors at Wikipedia go a bit more in depth. The best sources for information are reference textbooks such as the Manual of Microbiology. It’s important to remember that mycobacteria can infect any region of the body, not just the respiratory system, so it’s important to keep an open mind. It’s also helpful to know that some species are rapid growers and may present on blood agar in a routine culture.

-Kelly Swails

 

Are We Approaching the Post-Antibiotic Era?

While I was out of the office last week, Maryn McKenna wrote up a few informative blog posts about the CDC’s threat report. 

The first summarizes the lengthy report (114 pages) by highlighting the top three “urgent” threats–CRE, N. gonorrhoeae, and C. difficle. She also mentions that CDC’s director Dr. Tom Frieden states “If we are not careful, we will soon be in a post-antibiotic era. And for some patients and for some microbes, we are already there.”

Another post discusses the connection between agricultural antibiotic use and bacterial resistance in humans.

As an aside, if you’re as much of an emerging disease junkie as I am, check out McKenna’s blog on a regular basis. She’s also written a book on MRSA that should be required reading for all clinical microbiologists. It’s one part history, one part science lesson, and one part cautionary tale about this bacterium.

-Kelly Swails