Two new database products provide coverage of filamentous fungi and dangerous pathogens, allowing clinical laboratories to improve microbial identification and characterisation
To complement the existing databases of the MicroStation system, Oxoid has introduced two new MicroLog database products to the UK.
The filamentous fungi database and the dangerous pathogen database supplement further enhance the identification capabilities of clinical microbiology laboratories, allowing rapid, biochemical identification of over 1900 strains of bacteria, yeast and fungi (including many species that cannot be identified by other systems).
Complementing the existing aerobic bacteria (Gram positive and Gram negative), anaerobic bacteria, and yeast databases, the new filamentous fungi database provides accurate and reproducible identification and characterisation of many clinically important fungal species.
Fungal diseases are increasingly becoming a more serious threat to human health, causing a range of infections from 'sick building' syndrome to life-threatening disorders affecting immuno-compromised individuals.
By simplifying and improving the identification and characterisation of filamentous fungi, the MicroStation system now provides accurate and reproducible results significantly faster than traditional methods (in days rather than weeks).
The filamentous fungi database also includes an extensive library of microscopic and macroscopic digital photographs that can be reviewed automatically, allowing verification of identifications with morphological criteria.
In addition, the new dangerous pathogen database supplement, for use with the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria databases, gives laboratories the ability to identify and characterise a number of important pathogenic bacteria that have been determined (by public health officials, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) as being of primary importance in monitoring bioterrorism.
These species are difficult or impossible to identify using traditional biochemical methods, making this supplement of particular interest to public health and military laboratories.
The MicroStation's microbial identification technology is based on patented carbon-source utilisation 'fingerprinting'.
Following isolation on solid media (and, for bacterial cultures, Gram staining to determine the testing protocol) the organism is introduced to a wide variety of pre-selected carbon sources in the 96-well MicroPlate.
Incubation for as little as four hours then produces a characteristic biochemical pattern called a metabolic fingerprint.
An accurate identification of the organism is then obtained by comparison with stored fingerprints in the MicroLog databases.
The quality of microbial identification that can be obtained using MicroStation would normally involve the use of labour-intensive strips and panels and only be performed in large reference laboratories.
The semi-automated MicroStation system has eliminated these time consuming steps, allowing any size of laboratory to perform more rapid identifications and characterisations.
Furthermore, the software allows users to create and expand their own customised database of organism reaction patterns, allowing them even greater identification capabilities.
