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We evaluated the BacT/Alert Microbial Detection System (Organon Teknika Corporation, Durham, NC, USA) by using FAN bottles compared to conventional culture methods for the recovery of microorganisms from normally sterile body fluids other than blood and dialysates. Clinically significant pathogens were isolated from 116 (11%) of 1, 099 consecutive specimens (80 from both conventional media and FAN bottles; 23 from FAN bottles only; 13 from conventional media only). Gram-positive cocci were more likely to be recovered from FAN bottles than from conventional media (p = 0.04). Contaminants were also more likely to have grown in FAN bottles (3%) than on conventional media (1%) (p = 0.04). The mean time to detection of significant pathogens was 20.9 h using FAN bottles as compared to 30. 9 h using conventional media (p = 0.0001). These results indicate that the BacT/Alert Microbial Detection System using FAN blood culture bottles improves the yield of clinically significant Gram-positive isolates from normally sterile body fluids with a reduced time to detection.

A total of 244 CMY-2 plasmids from 5 separate studies involving Escherichia coli and Salmonella human clinical cases as well as E. coli from feedlots and water sources were examined. Genetically similar CMY-2 plasmids isolated from either E. coli or Salmonella from human, animal, and environmental sources are widely distributed across Canada and cluster into replicon types I1, A/C, and K/B and an unidentified group.

Five methods for the rapid identification and differentiation of Branhamella catarrhalis from other Neisseria species in 86 respiratory specimens were compared. These tests included the 4-methylumbelliferyl butyrate (MUB), API quadFerm, B.CAT.Confirm, Gonochek II, and the Tributyrin disc. All five tests reliably and accurately identified 31 B. catarrhalis isolates. However, the MUB test was the least expensive, least labor intensive, and did not require overnight purity plates for performance. The MUB test provided same-day identification of B. catarrhalis isolates from the initial primary isolation culture.