title: Rapid method of determining cholera vibrio biotype.
abstract: The characteristic motility of cholera vibrios, as viewed through a dark-field microscope, and the adhesiveness of chicken cell-positive vibrios provide a means for rapidly identifying and biotyping cholera vibrios. Dilute suspensions of vibrios, such as one might find in a fresh rectal swab specimen from a cholera patient, when mixed with a 0.25% suspension of chicken erythrocytes in saline, can be used to biotype the cholera vibrios without prior isolation in pure culture. This is accomplished by using a dark-field microscope through which the chicken cell-positive cholera vibrios are observed to attach to the scattered erythrocytes and to propel them with a characteristic flipping motion.
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002465:Cell Movement; D002645:Chickens; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D012007:Rectum / Q000382:microbiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000145:classification*