Practical Applications of New Laboratory Methods for Plague Investigations,
Abstract
Five assay media have proven useful for identifying, isolating, and characterizing the plague organism through detection of virulence factors: (1) antiserum-agar plate technique, (2) pesticin assay agar, (3) magnesium oxalate agar, (4) Congo Red pigmentation agar, and (5) fibrinolytic assay plates. The first two methods utilize fraction I antigen and pesticin I as identifying traits to isolate Pasteurella pestis from primary culture plates of specimens. The other three methods provide information on virulence and VW antigen production, pigmentation, and fibrinolytic activity, thereby permitting further characterization of the isolates as presumptively virulent, attenuated, or avirulent. This paper provides a consolidated description of these methods and illustrates their practical value for examination of clinical specimens. They are particularly useful in the absence of animals and with minimally equipped laboratories, and can be used in various combinations according to the immediate needs and capabilities of the investigator. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0872044
Entities
People
- Earl D. Beesley
- Johnnie M. Albizo
- Michael J. Surgalla