BACKGROUND Mycobacterium species are grown using specific media that increase laboratory cost, thus hampering their diffusion in resource-limited countries. Preliminary data suggested that versatile blood agar may be also used for mycobacterial culture. METHODOLOGY We examined the growth of 41 different Mycobacterium species on 5% blood agar. Over a 24-month period we analysed isolation of my...

We used the BACTEC system to evaluate the effects of several decontamination methods and the addition of antibiotics on the viability of Mycobacterium ulcerans. The effects of polyoxyethylene stearate or egg yolk as supplements were also evaluated to determine their impact on the growth of M. ulcerans. Strains of different geographic origins were subjected to Petroff, reversed Petroff, oxalic a...

Recovery of Mycobacterium avium complex organisms from 412 lysis-centrifugation (Isolator) concentrates of blood specimens obtained from human immunodeficiency virus-positive individuals was attempted with the following media (and Isolator concentrate inoculum volumes): BACTEC 12B broth (0.2 and 1.0 ml), Lowenstein-Jensen slants (0.1 ml), and Middlebrook 7H10/11 agar (0.1 ml). A total of 42 M. ...

The LCx Mycobacterium tuberculosis ligase chain reaction system (Abbott Diagnostic Division, Abbott Park, Ill.) was used to detect M. tuberculosis in 150 consecutive BACTEC vials on the day on which a positive growth index (GI) was recorded. By LCx, M. tuberculosis DNA was detected in BACTEC vials on average 2.6 days before the presence of acid-fast bacilli could be confirmed by microscopic exa...

The in vitro activities of 12 macrolide compounds against 28 Mycobacterium avium complex strains isolated from patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were determined by the conventional proportion method and by the BACTEC method. Clarithromycin (A-56268; TE-031), a new macrolide compound, was the most active agent tested, inhibiting 90% of strains at an MIC of 4 micrograms/ml by the B...

In vitro anti-leprosy activities of various antimicrobials were measured by using the BACTEC 460 TB System. The Growth Index reducing activities of test drugs were strong in clofazimine, KRM-1648, rifabutin, clarithromycin and rifampicin; intermediate in sparfloxacin, minocycline and ofloxacin; and weak in ciprofloxacin, fleroxacin and DDS. Amikacin, pipemidic acid, enoxacin and norfloxacin had...

MB/BacT, BACTEC 460 TB, and Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium were evaluated in parallel for recovery of mycobacteria from 3,700 continuous clinical specimens in a routine laboratory. Mycobacteria were identified from 123 (3.3%) specimens. The recovery rates for all mycobacteria by the different systems were 91.0, 73.0, and 53.6% for BACTEC 460 TB, MB/BacT, and LJ medium, respectively. The recovery...

The Isolator 10 lysis-centrifugation blood culture system (E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., Wilmington, Del.) and the BACTEC 16B-17D radiometric resin system (Johnston Laboratories, Inc., Towson, Md.) both remove antimicrobial agents from the blood for culture. We compared these two systems for recovery of aerobic bacteria, facultatively anaerobic bacteria, and yeasts. A total of 5,000 blo...

A total of 156 clinical isolates were tested by the modified rapid fermentation test, the BACTEC Neisseria differentiation kit, and the cystine-Trypticase agar method. The modified rapid fermentation test and BACTEC methods accurately identified at least 95% of 101 strains of N. gonorrhoeae tested and at least 91% of 45 strains of N. meningitidis tested within 4 h. Overall, the cystine-Tryptica...

In this study, eight new ethyl {2-[3,4-diaryl-3H-thiazol-2ylidenamino]thiazol-4-yl}acetate were synthesized by reacting ethyl [2-(3-aryl(thiouredio)thiazol-4-yl]acetate and phenacyl bromides in ethanol. The solid was filtered and recrystallized from ethanol. The chemical structures of the synthesized compounds were proven by elemental analysis, IR, 1H-NMR and MS spectral data. The compounds wer...