BACTERIAL ISOLATE IDENTIFICATION & CHARACTERIZATION

Laboratory: Microbial Reference

Test Description: Bacterial isolate identification/confirmation and additional characterization of specific organisms; unknown bacterial isolates, Haemophilus influenzae (invasive), Listeria monocytogenes, Neisseria meningitidis (invasive), Streptococcus pyogenes (invasive), Vancomycin-intermediate/resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VISA/VRSA), Vibrio species (invasive), other

Order Approval Required? No

Specimen Type: Pure bacterial isolate

Collection Container: Slant (i.e. TSA slant) or plate media (i.e. blood agar plate)

Storage Instructions: Store isolates at 2-30°C

Transportation Instructions: Transport: 2-30°C

Test Methodology:

• MALDI-TOF and conventional culture techniques for identification
• Serotyping for Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis
• Oxacillin Screen Agar for the detection of Methicillin Resistant S. aureus

Additional Information: Isolate may be forwarded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or another laboratory for further testing if necessary

Causes for Rejection:

• Evidence of exposure to temperature extremes during transport
• Sample lacks two patient identifiers
• H. influenzae, N. meningitidis, and S. pyogenes from non invasive sources
• Sample submitted with no test request form or mismatched sample and test request form
• Media that has expired prior to inoculation
• Incorrect or broken transport media
• True duplicate specimens (same collection date, source, and patient identifiers) may be rejected

• Specimen received out of the appropriate temperature range.