Selective Isolation of Leptospiras from Contaminated Material by Incorporation of Neomycin to Culture Media

• Published in: Applied microbiology Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 781 - 786
• Main Authors: Myers, Donald M., Varela-Díaz, Víctor M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-05-1973
• ISSN: 0003-6919
• DOI: 10.1128/am.25.5.781-786.1973

Incorporation of neomycin to the culture medium was found to be effective in inhibiting
Escherichia coli
contaminants without interfering with the growth of serotype
L. autumnalis
. The growth of 12 other
Leptospira
serotypes was unaffected by the addition of 300 μg of neomycin per ml to Ellinghausen medium or 5 μg/ml to Fletcher medium. Neomycin-containing medium was found to be of value in the isolation of leptospiras from cultures of blood from infected laboratory animals. A higher percentage of isolates was obtained in swine kidneys from an abattoir in medium containing neomycin than resulted from the same medium without antibiotic or with 5-fluorouracil. Contaminated leptospiral cultures growing in media with 5-fluorouracil were purified by subculturing into neomycin-containing media.