Mannheimia haemolytica, Staphylococcus spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica subsp. enterocolitica – new images

Posted on 2011-03-06 by kaggen

We have included a new photo of M. haemolytica cultivated on purple agar (with) lactose in VetBact.

We have also included photos of S. aureus subsp. aureus, S. epidermidis and S. intermedius cultivated as  streaks on purple agar (with maltose), because it is possible to distinguish S. intermedius (1) from other Staphylococcus spp. (2-3) by this test. S. intermedius does not ferment maltose (or gives a very weak reaction) under aerobic conditions (on an agar plate) in contast to other Staphylococcus spp.

Finally, we have included a picture of a Y. enterocolitica subsp. enterocolitica colony (Fig. 77:4) cultivated on CIN agar and photographed through a microscope. The colony has the typical “bull’s eye” appearence.

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Staphylococcus epidermidis – a recently included bacterium in VetBact

Posted on 2011-02-27 by kaggen
Lise-Lotte Fernström

Lise-Lotte Fernström (BVF, SLU) is checking the bacterial colonies.

We have now included Staphylococcus epidermidis in VetBact because it is a commensal on skin and mucous membranes of many animals (including humans, cattle, dogs and horses). S. epidermidis can be isolated from clinical samples as a contaminant, but it may occasionally,  cause wound infections and mastitis in cows. S. epidermidis belongs to the coagulase negative staphylococci and it does not produce hemolysis on blood agar as can be seen from the images, which have been included on the bacterial page in VetBact.

Posted in New bacteria for VetBact | 1 Comment

Why is Escherichia coli currently (2011-02-23) the most frequently visited bacterial page on VetBact?

Posted on 2011-02-23 by kaggen
E. coli

Closeup of colonies of Escherichia coli, cultivated aerobically on Chromogenic E. coli/coliform selective agar. Scale bar = 5 mm.

Escherichia coli is currently the most frequently visited bacterium of VetBact. The reason cannot  be explained only because I recently recovered from a severe urinary tract infection caused by E. coli. Furthermore, it cannot be the picture of E. coli colonies on the start page that has attracted the visitors, because E. coli was number one already before it was added.

Could an outbreak of E. coli infections have occured somewhere? If you have any idea, please leave a comment.

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Carbohydrate fermentation

Posted on 2011-02-21 by kaggen
Carbohydrate fermentation

Carbohydrate fermentation with five different carbohydrates and negative and positive controls, respectively, to the left.

We are currently restructuring and updating the information about which carbohydrates  bacterial species can ferment under production of acid. The updated information is stored in a form suitable for use in a planned module for bacteriological experiments in silico, which we refer to as “VetBactLab“.

So far, we have updated the information for about half of the species in the database and for those species, the information is presented in the form of a table under the heading “Fermentation of  carbohydrates” (see for example Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae). The figure to the right illustrates how the result may look after a carbohydrate fermentation experiment in test tubes in silico in VetBactLab.

Lise-Lotte Fernström and Olov Carlsson (BVF, SLU) prepared the samples and assisted in preparation of the illustration.

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Rhodococcus equi – new colony pictures

Posted on 2011-02-17 by kaggen

Rhodococcus equi on purple agar

Rhodococcus equi causes airway infections in  horses. We have replaced the old single colony picture of R. equi in VetBact with six new ones. This one shows a closeup of R. equi colonies cultivated on purple agar with lactose. Note the mucous and pink colonies. Scale bar = 5 mm.

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New colony photos of Staphylococcus aureus

Posted on 2011-02-10 by Staffan
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus

Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus

We’ve added some new images in the last couple of days, including some nice colony photos of S. aureus subsp. aureas where the double hemolytic zones are clearly visible. The clear α-hemolysis is indicated with the black arrow and the diffuse β-hemolysis is indicated with the blue arrow.

Posted in Images | 2 Comments

New and improved colony pictures

Posted on 2011-02-08 by kaggen
CAMP test of <i>R. equi</i>

CAMP test of Rhodococcus equi against Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus

The quality of some of the colony pictures can be improved and we are continuously replacing some of the old ones. For each bacterium, our goal is to have one picture of the entire agar plate and one closeup of the colonies. The plates will be shown under lighting from above and below, when appropriate. We also intend to show the appearance of the colonies on different solid media. Tests based on microbiological interactions lika the CAMP test and the satellitism test (dependence of X and/or V factors) will also be included in VetBact. The result of a CAMP-test has now been included for Rhodococcus equi in VetBact.

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Financial support for bacteria from dogs

Posted on 2011-02-07 by kaggen
DSCN8846-R2

The Danish-Swedish farm dog Rosa is waiting for results.

We have received a grant from the Foundation of Thure F. och Karin Forsberg for “Further development of the database VetBact, with special reference to bacteria isolated from the dog”. This grant will make it possible to improve and add images of these bacteria and to make the database as complete as possible for bacteria which can be isolated from dogs.

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VetBact goes interactive!

Posted on 2011-02-04 by Staffan

Welcome to the VetBactBlog where we will inform you of new features and updates in the VetBact database!

We will also share our plans for the future of VetBact and we invite our users to participate in the discussion.  Please let us know, by leaving a comment below or by using the contact form, what you would like to see in VetBact in the future!

The VetBact Team
Kaggen, Märit and Staffan

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