Rapid isolation and susceptibility testing of Leptospira spp . using a new solid medium 1 ( LVW agar ) 2 3 Running title : Isolation and susceptibility test of Leptospira using solid medium 4 5

Rapid isolation and susceptibility testing of Leptospira spp. using a new solid medium 1 (LVW agar) 2 3 Running title: Isolation and susceptibility test of Leptospira using solid medium 4 5 Vanaporn Wuthiekanun, Premjit Amornchai, Daniel H Paris, Sayan Langla, Janjira 6 Thaipadunpanit, Wirongrong Chierakul, Lee D. Smythe, Nicholas J. White, 7 Nicholas P. J. Day, Direk Limmathurotsakul, Sharon J. Peacock 8 9 Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Department of Clinical Tropical 10 Medicine, Department of Tropical Hygiene and Department of Microbiology and 11 Immunology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; 12 Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical 13 Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; WHO/FAO/OIE Collaborating Centre 14 for Reference & Research on Leptospirosis, Centre for Public Health Sciences, 15 Queensland Health Scientific Services, Brisbane, Australia; Department of Medicine, 16 University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK 17 18 Corresponding author: Direk Limmathurotsakul, 420/6 Mahidol-Oxford Tropical 19 Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Rajvithee Rd, 20 Bangkok, 10400 Thailand. Telephone +662-203-6333, E-mail: [email protected] 21 22 Word count: 3,388; abstract: 246; References: 34; Tables: 4; Figures 1; Supplementary 23 files 1 24 Conflicting interests: none declared 25 Copyright © 2012, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. doi:10.1128/AAC.01812-12 AAC Accepts, published online ahead of print on 31 October 2012