title: An improved selective and differential medium for the isolation of Burkholderia pseudomallei from clinical specimens.
abstract: Isolation and culture of Burkholderia pseudomallei remains the main stay in the diagnosis of melioidosis. Thus, the search for selective and differential media for B. pseudomallei has been ongoing. A number of such media have been reported with varying efficacy. Ashdown medium is the most established selective medium for the isolation of B. pseudomallei. There are no reports of differential media differentiating B. pseudomallei from Burkholderia cepacia. This report documents such a selective and differentiating medium for B. pseudomallei. Of a total of 1042 clinical specimens containing mixed flora and gram-negative isolates that were tested on this medium, 16 of the specimens yielded B. pseudomallei. The isolation rate was found to be 1.5%. This medium was found to be simple and inexpensive, can be made by small laboratories, and called as Francis medium. Based on the colony morphology and color, a preliminary report can be made within 18-24 h for the presence of B. pseudomallei. Our study showed that this medium had an overall sensitivity of 78.4% with a specificity of 92.2%. The use of this medium as an early diagnostic tool will help to reduce mortality and morbidity of melioidosis patients.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Unit, Department of Pathology, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, 25100 Kuantan, Malaysia. alexlf@streamyx.com
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: Subramania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aiyar
authors.forename: Chan Yean
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Yean
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Naing
authors.forename: Manickam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ravichandran
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D016957:Burkholderia pseudomallei / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008554:Melioidosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media