Oxoid has exhibited its latest products for clinical microbiologists at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Helsinki.
Products on show included the Xpect range.
The Xpect range of lateral flow tests includes Xpect Flu A and B that distinguishes between influenza virus types A and B in 15 minutes.
This test is performed directly from nose or throat swabs and results can be easily interpreted.
It has not yet been evaluated with the new H1N1 influenza A strain.
The Xpect range includes tests for Legionella, Influenza A and B, RSV, Clostridium difficile, Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Rotavirus.
Two chromogenic media have been launched in the Brilliance Resistant Screening Agar range.
Brilliance ESBL Agar and Brilliance VRE Agar can be used as screening tests to rapidly identify patients colonised with problematic extended spectrum ss-lactamase (ESBL) producing organisms and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), allowing appropriate infection control and treatment to commence sooner, for the best possible patient outcome.
Brilliance ESBL Agar provides presumptive identification of ESBL-producing E coli and the Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Serratia and Citrobacter (KESC) group, direct from clinical samples.
Supplied in ready-to-use plates, results are available in 24 hours.
The semi-opaque background of the medium contrasts with the brightly coloured colonies and allows clear differentiation of E coli (blue colonies) and the KESC group (green colonies).
The inclusion of cefpodoxime, a recognised marker for ESBL-mediated resistance, inhibits most non-ESBL Enterobacteriaceae.
Inhibition of AmpCs reduces incidence of false-positive results compared to traditional media minimising confirmatory testing.
Brilliance ESBL Agar has recently been selected by Mosar (the FP6 EC-funded project co-ordinated by the French Inserm) for use in a pioneering European ESBL prevalence study.
Brilliance VRE Agar is a chromogenic screening plate for the detection of VRE.
Following direct inoculation from a faecal sample, swab, isolate or suspension, the medium provides presumptive identification of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis within 24 hours.
Differentiation of vancomycin-resistant E faecium (indigo to purple colonies) from E faecalis (light blue colonies) is achieved through the inclusion of two chromogens that are targeted by specific enzymes.
Additional antibiotics are present in combination with vancomycin, to suppress the growth of competing flora, including E gallinarum and E casseliflavus, both of which are intrinsically resistant to vancomycin.
Early, presumptive identification of ESBL-producing organisms and VRE permits appropriate treatment and infection control procedures to be adopted sooner, improving both treatment outcomes and the effectiveness of infection control measures.
Other products in the Brilliance range include Brilliance MRSA Agar, Brilliance Candida UTI Agar and Brilliance Salmonella Agar.
The Prospect range of qualitative, enzyme immunoassays has recently been extended to include test kits for Adenovirus, Astrovirus, Clostridium difficile, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia, Giardia/Cryptosporidium, Rotavirus, and Shiga toxin Escherichia coli.
These diagnostic tests for enteric disease caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, require minimal hands-on time, are suitable for automated protocols (DSX and Triturus) and provide results in less than two hours.
The test kits have common substrate, wash buffer and stop solution plus colour-coded kit-specific components for ease of handling.
Accurate MIC values with MIC Evaluators MIC Evaluators (MICE) strips combine the simplicity of the diffusion method with the accuracy of an MIC test, to provide important information for the treatment of critically ill patients.
MICE have recently been evaluated in international trials where they are reported as providing equivalent performance to standard methods.
Packaged as individual sachets in boxes of 10 and 50 strips, MICE strips are available for a wide selection of antibiotics at a concentration range of 0.015ug/ml - 256ug/ml.
MICE scales conform to international standards and a large font makes the strips easy to read.
They are also simple to use: just take a sachet from the box and peel back its foil packaging - the strip handle is presented when the sachet is peeled apart, allowing the strip to be placed on the media.
