Bacteriology Pictures
Bacterial Growth Media
Much of the bacteriological media used in both the Kissimmee and Live Oak facilities is prepared and tested in-house. This allows us to conveniently stock adequate supplies of fresh media for use as needed in our testing. Using the animal history and provisional diagnosis, we determine which combination of our many media would be most appropriate for the animal, symptoms and site of any specimen that we receive. The variety of media greatly enhances our ability to grow and identify pathogens.
Bacterial Identification
Once bacterial pathogens are cultured, we use a variety of means to identify these cultures. This includes biochemical panels such as the one shown here, combinations of growth and chemical reactions, and a computer system which identifies pathogens based on the pattern of carbon-compound usage.
Antimicrobial Testing
Antimicrobial sensitivity testing is often the most useful data which we can supply to our clients. Our reports are tailored toward the type of animal being tested—a different subset of antimicrobials for companion animals vs. food animals, for example. In this way, the data supplied by our laboratory caters to the appropriate treatments available for the animal or herd under investigation. Our antimicrobial testing covers the companion animals, food animals, birds and even fish, as well as appropriate antibiotics for urinary tract infections or mastitis.
Serology
In addition to bacterial culture, this section also performs a variety of serological tests. Serological testing can be advantageous in regards to testing immune response after vaccination, or for tracing an immune response in an animal that has been exposed to or is recovering from disease
Last Updated: October 9, 2008
