This study was designed to improve the recovery of Borrelia burgdorferi from blood. With the techniques used, B. burgdorferi could be recovered from the blood of approximately 25% of patients with early Lyme disease associated with erythema migrans. Serum was a better source of culture material than whole blood. The volume of blood cultured correlated directly with yield, particularly for patie...

Early appropriate treatment of bacteremia is important in minimizing morbidity and mortality. Standard blood culture methods are not optimal since several days are often required for recovery and identification of organisms which may be present in the blood. The use of a membrane filter technique allows one to grow any organisms present in blood much more rapidly than by broth or pour plate cul...

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of bacteremia in both children and adults. Currently, the diagnosis of pneumococcal bacteremia relies on the isolation and identification of the bacteria from blood cultures. We have developed a sensitive assay for the detection of S. pneumoniae in whole blood by the PCR. A specific primer-probe set (JM201 and JM202 primers with JM204 probe) designed fr...

Babesia divergens, the main causative agent of bovine babesiosis in Western Europe, was isolated from naturally infected cattle. Ninety-six blood samples were examined by means of an in vitro culture technique in sheep erythrocytes: 19 of them were collected from animals in the acute phase of the disease with visible parasitemia on blood smears, while the 77 remaining animals showed no microsco...

During cardiac catheterization it is an advantage to have an immediate indication of the oxygen content of blood samples withdrawn from the heart and great vessels while the catheter is still in situ. This is especially important in the more complex congenital defects as the procedure can then be modified if necessary in the light of the blood oxygen estimations. The present paper describes a w...