Product category:
Culture media
News Release from: Oxoid | Subject: CM0271, CM0331, DR0585, DR0575, DR0400
Edited by the Laboratorytalk Editorial
Team on 18 May 2006
Growth and ID of beta-haemolytic
streptococci
News of an outbreak of scarlet fever among young children in south west England has served as a timely reminder that we have not yet seen the last of this once-common disease
Fifty cases of scarlet fever were recently confirmed in the county of Wiltshire, with clusters in two nurseries, reversing the downward trend in cases reported in previous years The erythrogenic toxin produced as a result of infection with beta-haemolytic streptococci (usually group A) is responsible for the distinctive 'scarlet' rash after which the condition is named
This article was originally published on Laboratorytalk on 18 Jan 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Test to detect C difficile toxin A
Clostridium difficile is thought to be present in up to a fifth of hospital patients, and can cause the life-threatening condition PMC. Oxoid reports continuing sales growth for its diagnostic test
Culture medium for water quality monitoring
Oxoid has launched its water plate count agar, a medium to permit the enumeration of culturable micro-organisms from water using a colony count technique
While the rash and attendant symptoms of sore throat, fever and general malaise normally respond well to antibiotics, there is always the potential for more serious immune-mediated outcomes to develop if cases are left untreated.
These include rheumatic fever, glomerulonephritis, osteomyelitis, septicaemia and even death, underlining the importance of early diagnosis and therapy.
Oxoid offers a wide range of products to aid in the culture, identification and grouping of beta-haemolytic streptococci.
These include Blood Agar Base No 2 (product code: CM0271) whose enhanced nutritional properties favour the cultivation of fastidious streptococci, and Columbia Blood Agar Base (product code: CM0331) with Coba Selective Medium which has been specially formulated for the selective isolation of Streptococcus species.
Streptococcal grouping kits are also available in wet (product codes: DR0585 and DR0575) and dry (product code:DR0400) latex agglutination formats enabling group A streptococci to be reliably differentiated on the basis of specific carbohydrate antigens.
Additionally, the Oxoid Biochemical Identification System (Obis) PYR system (product code ID0580) facilitates rapid determination of Pyrase activity in group A streptococci. Request a free brochure from Oxoid ...
• Oxoid: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Laboratorytalk email newsletter
• Laboratorytalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
