 Welcome welcome! 👋 It's a new week, so it's a new BioConnections post! This week we're talking blood culture identification (BCID). BCID is covered mainly by Microbiologics and their QC panels, but you'll never guess what! We supply our own Fastidious Anaerobe Agar (F.A.A) for culturing your positive blood cultures on! Blood Culture IdentificationThis week i’m excited to highlight two innovative solutions that are helping clinical and research laboratories streamline workflows and improve diagnostic accuracy. The Microbiologics BCID Panel offers a reliable, quality-controlled way to verify molecular blood culture identification systems, ensuring confidence in rapid pathogen detection when time matters most. Complementing this, BioConnections (our own) FAA Agar provides a high-performance medium for the cultivation of fastidious anaerobes, supporting consistent growth and reproducible results. Together, these tools empower laboratories to maintain the highest standards in microbiological testing while enhancing efficiency and patient outcomes. MicrobiologicsFirst up we have Microbiologics (Who have a product for just about everything) and their Blood Culture Identification control panel (with 43 targets)  This nifty little panel comes with 6 positive control 1's, 6 positive control 2's and 6 negative controls. The make-up for each positive control is listed below for your convenience. BCID control panels are essential tools for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of blood culture identification systems used in clinical microbiology. These quality control materials are designed to monitor every stage of molecular diagnostic workflows, including extraction, amplification, and detection, helping laboratories identify variability, validate assay performance, and maintain compliance with regulatory standards.  For the eagle-eyes among you, you will have noticed I've also included Microbiologics' Gram-positive and Gram-negative blood culture control panels that come as inactivated pellets. The Gram-Positive Blood Culture Control Panel includes 3 pools containing 3-4 inactivated microorganisms per pool. Kits contain 5 vials of each pool (15 total vials) and feature colour coordinated labels for easy pool identification. The Gram-Negative Blood Culture Control Panel also includes 3 pools containing 3-5 inactivated microorganisms per pool. Kits contain 5 vials of each pool (15 total vials) and feature colour coordinated labels for easy pool identification. BioConnectionsOMG looks it's us! We made it into a blog post! Yes your eyes are working correctly, We offer our own F.A.A agar for you to pour your own plates. These plates have one of the same benefits as CHROMagar dehydrated media (if you think back to last week), it has a super long shelf-life! It comes in either 500g or 2.5kg that can be sent to you!  Our F.A.A agar has been around for quite some time (longer than I've been alive lol) and has been referenced in reports dating back to 1995. One of the main sources I could dig up was this Bordatella petrii Clinical Isolate article that used our agar to culture a bone biopsy specimen in 2005. Our medium also has the option to be made selective with the addition of antibiotic supplements. This is the medium of choice for the routine isolation of clinically significant anaerobes, our medium supports the growth of most fastidious anaerobes. Classical colony formation, odour and fluorescence under UV are diagnostic features on this medium. The choice of peptones and growth factors provide early growth of most organisms whilst the starch has an important role as a de-toxification agent. The medium is often made selective for various groups of anaerobes by the addition of appropriate selective agents. That's all for this week! Next week we're going to talk about STI and women's health (HPV screening and such)
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CP-CRE, CRO, CPO, CPE, CRAB: Whatever you want to call it, Carbapenem-resistance in bacteria.14/4/2026  This week we are doing something a little different. Instead of focusing on one company and their range of offerings, we will instead be looking at carbapenemase-producing organisms. I will cover what they are and why we care about them first, and then show you all of the products we supply for the identification, detection, culture and quality control of CPOs. The Section about backgroundWhat are Carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs)? Carbapenemase-producing organisms are a group of bacteria which produce carbapenemases, making them resistant to the antibiotic, carbapenems. Carbapenems are a beta-lactam antibacterial with a broad spectrum of activity. This spectrum includes many gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and anaerobes; imipenem (imipenem with cilastatin) and meropenem have activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but emerging acquired resistance can be a problem. [1] CPOs can usually be found in the normal gut flora of humans and animals, without causing a problem/ colonising. The issues are apparent when they get into places they are not supposed to be, like the bladder and especially the bloodstream (with a high mortality of 40-50%). This is why it is quite a big issue in hospitals (CPE outbreak 2015/2016) where people are already unwell and on antibiotics, or have a weakened immune system. [2] [1] https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summaries/carbapenems/ [2] https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/patient-information-pages/carbapenemase-producing-organisms-cpo Prevalence and incidence From October 2020 to December 2024, there were 20 544 reported episodes of acquired carbapenemase-producing organisms (to the UKHSA), with the majority of these being identified from screening samples, accounting for 71.7% of these reports and 910 cases (4.4%) being from sterile sites. However, in Q4 2024 the rate of reported CPO episodes decreased when compared to Q3 2024 (3.3/100 000 population compared to the previous 3.7/100 000 population). This being the highest since mandatory reporting initially began in 2020. [1] To dive deeper, the highest rate of CPO continued to be in London and the North West (26.2 and 22.7 per 100 000 population, respectively). Furthermore, NHS North West London ICB had the highest rate (40.2 per 100 000 population) and NHS Gloucestershire ICB having the lowest (0.8 per 100 000 population). [1] Between Q1 2024 and Q4 2024, the most reported acquired carabapenemase was NDM (35.9%), followed up by OXA-48-like (34.4%) and finally KPC (19.6%). This was also seen to vary by region, OXA-48-like was the most reported mechanism in the East of England and the West Midlands, whereas KPC dominated the reports for the North West (NDM being the most reported mechanism throughout). [1] 11 years ago, in 2015, there was a sudden rise in cases of faecal colonisation with KPC-producing E. coli, detected in the Manchester Heart Centre at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. Between the 1st of April 2014 and the 30th of December 2014, there were 23 new CRE-colonised individuals, detected in the MHC, including 2 with E. coli. A CRE outbreak was declared on the 2nd of January 2015, following 6 new CRE-colonised individuals identifications (4 with blaKPC and 2 with blaNDM; no E. coli). [2] Following the outbreak, investigations identified that the bacteria were present in clinical hand-wash basins, sink sites and floor scrubbers. This lead to the trust implementing strict environmental cleaning, enhanced surveillance for patients, and routine screening of patients. By January 2015, the Manchester foundation trust were operating a trust-wide screening program (>110 screens/day). From September-December 2014, 16 612 samples from 7 239 inpatients were screened using either culture (9 808 samples), or PCR and culture (6 804). Overall, CRE prevalence was 3.8% (438 positive samples from 272 patients), with molecular mechanism data for 135/163 PCR-positive samples indicating that blaKPC accounted for most carbapenem resistance (97%). [2] [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carbapenemase-producing-gram-negative-bacteria-laboratory-surveillance/carbapenemase-producing-gram-negative-organisms-in-england-since-october-2020-quarterly-update-q4-2024#background [2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6256751/  First up, we have CHROMagar Microbiology and their mSuperCARBA dehydrated media for the detection of a wide range of carbapenemase producers (OXA, NDM, VIM, IMP, KPC). CHROMagar mSuperCARBA was designed to simplify the detection of CPEs, including the big five (OKNVI), this allows for the improved monitoring of high-risk patients and routine screening of inpatients and transfers. The distinctive colours produced by individual colonies allows for the presumptive positive results to be assessed within 24hrs of reception of the sample. What more can I say? It's dehydrated media that you can sit on your shelf in your storeroom, it has a shelf life of almost 2 years so you'll never go to use it to find it's gone out of date. You just pour the plates when you need them, in the exact quantity you need them. 5L of dehydrated media will make about 250 plates too!  Next up, we have Rosco Diagnostica and their diagnostic kits. There are two main kits we'll be looking at, these being the KPC, MBL & OXA-48 confirm kit, and the KPC and MBL confirm kit (in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter) Rosco Diagnostica has developed and produces convenient systems for the detection, rapid colorimetric and assembled kits with disc diffusion tablets, complete with ready-to-use cartridges of the necessary combined Neo-Sensitabs or Diatabs, and a guide to their use. Rosco diagnostica rapid colorimetric kits have the following advantages over their competitors:
 Microbiologics have quite a few different products for CPOs, ranging from KWIK-STIKs for you OKNVI's, individual ATCC accredited organisms, and molecular diagnostic quality controls. Helix Elite molecular standards are advanced quality control materials designed to support the development, validation, and routine monitoring of molecular diagnostic assays. Used across PCR and other nucleic acid-based technologies, these controls help laboratories across the UK and US ensure accuracy, detect visibility, and maintain confidence in test results while meeting regulatory requirements. For Carabpenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, there is one control panel, this being: #8187 Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Control Panel (Inactivated swab). This kit includes 6 positive control swabs and 6 negative control swabs. Each positive swab consisting of:
For your OKNVI's (OXA, KPC, NDM, VIM, IMP) there are individual organisms that can be used for your phenotyping and quality controls. These being:
 Finally, we have AmplexDiagnostics GmbH and their SuperBug series for the detection of various carbapenemase producers via real-time PCR. The eazyplex SuperBug CRE assay can be a useful tool for a rapid (less than 20 mins) and reliable identification of resistance mechanism genes in Gram-negative rods, and also directly from urine and pre-cultured blood samples.  These rapid diagnostic tests cover both prevalent Gram-negative resistances (such as KPC, NDM, and CTX-M) and the less prevalent, but equally important, resistance genes such as GIM, GES, and AmpC. The eazyPlex SuperBug series is a molecular identification product based on LAMP technology, with key features such as:
I am once again done yapping for this week, I hope you enjoyed this post on Carbapenem-resistance and all that.
Good morning! Welcome back, I hope you had a nice easter break and everything went accordingly (If you planned anything). This week we're talking about CHROMagar Microbiology, you've probably heard of them, and more than likely used their chromogenic media at some point, if you've ever stepped foot into a microbiology lab. For the un-initiated, I will include a bit of information about what chromogenic media is and why it's neat so don't worry if you've never heard of a CHROMagar! What we're talking about today is a little different to how you might know CHROMagar, as we instead deal with their plates in powder form! Now you may think this is pretty old-school, BUT!, there are benefits to dehydrated media compared to your usual fridge-stored plates.
What are chromogenic media plates?We're going all the way back to basics for this one so bear with. Chromogenic materials are defined as substances that exhibit a reversible change in coloration, in response to external stimuli. Chromogenic media contains chromogens, consisting of a substrate and a chromophore. Plates, before use are colourless because the chromophore does not absorb visible light whilst conjugated to the substrate [1]. When a specific bacterial organisms enzymatic activity comes into contact with the chromogen molecule, that enzyme cleaves the chromogen molecule which releases the chromophore, as this chromophore is no longer conjugated, the light becomes visible [1]. The chromophore used does not diffuse readily into the surrounding media, meaning that the colour stays concentrated in the area specifically where the bacterial colony with the target enzymatic activity grew. This is why the colony itself takes on the chromophores colour [1]. Chromogenic media utilise synthetic chromogenic enzyme substrates in order to specifically target pathogenic species, based on their enzyme activity. This enzyme activity is never completely species-specific, requiring the use of complementary enzyme substrates and/ or selective agents. This means that the majority of chromogenic media are both selective and differential as they accommodate the inhibition of non-target organisms whilst enabling target pathogens to grow as coloured colonies due to their metabolism, which is usually through hydrolysis, of one or more chromogenic enzyme substrates [2]. [1] https://asm.org/articles/2020/september/how-chromagar-tm-revolutionized-bacterial-identifi [2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5355637/
Cherry PickingI would like to highlight to you some of the media that we feel are worth your time. Most of these products can also be found on our drug-resistant bacteria detection page on our website, and the clinical microbiology section on CHROMagar's website. CHROMagar ESBLIntended for use in the qualitative direct detection of gastrointestinal colonisation with Extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase-resistant Enterobacteria (ESBL), to aid in the prevention and control of ESBL in healthcare settings. Plates can be inoculated with rectal swabs and stool samples from patients to screen for ESBL colonisation, with results viable for interpretation 18-24h of aerobic incubation at 35-37°C. CHROMagar mSuperCARBAIntended for the use in the qualitative direct detection of gastrointestinal colonisation with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteria (CRE), including OXA-48 producers, to aid in the prevention and control of CRE in healthcare settings. This medium can also be inoculated with rectal swabs and stool samples from patients to screen for CRE colonisation, with results viable for interpretation after 18-24h of aerobic incubation at 35-37°C. CHROMagar MRSAIntended for the use in the qualitative direct detection of colonisation by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to aid in the prevention and control of MRSA in healthcare settings. This media can be inoculated with anterior nares or perineal swabs from patients, and healthcare workers, to screen for MRSA colonisation. With results viable to interpret after 18-24h of aerobic incubation at 35-37°C. CHROMagar AcinetobacterIntended for use in the qualitative direct detection of colonisation with Acinetobacter to aid in the prevention and control of Acinetobacter, drug-susceptible or multi-drug resistant (MDR), in healthcare settings. This media can be inoculated with rectal swabs, nare swabs, wound swabs, stool and urine samples from patients to screen for Acinetobacter colonisation. Furthermore, it can also be used in hygiene monitoring in clinical environments with surface sampling. Results are viable for interpretation after 18-24h aerobic incubation at 35-37°C. CHROMagar COL-APSEIntended for use in the qualitative direct detection of gastrointestinal colonisation with colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (COL-R) to aid in the prevention and control of COL-R in healthcare settings. This media can be inoculated with rectal and perineal swabs, and stool samples from patients to screen for COL-R colonisation. Results are viable for interpretation after 18-24h of aerobic incubation at 35-37°C. CHROMagar LIN-RIntended for the use in the detection, isolation and differentiation of strains of Staphylococcus and Enterococcus resistant to linezolid. Although prevalence of linezolid resistance remains low, the emergence of LIN-R strains is still a great concern. Linezolid sensitivity in gram positive clinical specimens is primarily monitored by surveillance programs in Europe, and in the United States. Clinical isolated for surveillance of LIN-R strains include swabs from the nose (screening for Staphylococcus), perianal and rectal areas (screening for Enterococcus). The power of powderI would like to reiterate my earlier point about how all of these media are available through BioConnections, but as dehydrated media. Which means we ship the media like this ⬇️⬇️  This is the only format we ship out CHROMagar plates, as dehydrated media. Now, to some of you, this may seem rather old-school, to have to pour your own plates. However there are some benefits to dehydrated media that you may have missed:
Now, I am not saying dehydrated media is better than pre-poured plates, as it just isn't as convenient as grabbing the plates out the fridge when you need them. But think of the times where you have to bin expired media that just didn't get used. Especially with the lesser-used highly selective (expensive) media, with dehydrated media, you could always have it in stock, and you could make up only what you need when you need it, reducing waste and lost money. Okay I'm done talking now, you can check out CHROmagar if you want! I think they're pretty neat. The most common parameters are available to you with the eazyplex® BloodScreen Panels for the Gram positive and the Gram negative spectrum. The examination is carried out directly from the positive blood culture without DNA extraction within 20 minutes.  An early diagnosis and a prompt and appropriate clinical therapy of sepsis is crucial to increase the chance of survival. Antimicrobial resistance is a key factor determining clinical unresponsiveness to treatment and rapid progression in sepsis and septic shock. Details The most common parameters are available to you with the eazyplex® BloodScreen Panels for the Gram positive and the Gram negative spectrum. The examination is carried out directly from the positive blood culture without DNA extraction.
  The eazyplex® test system is a lyophilized, ready-to-use amplification system and can be stored directly at the workplace at room temperature. Evaluations Performance of the eazyplex® BloodScreen GN as a simple and rapid molecular test for identification of Gram-negative bacteria from positive blood cultures Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis . 2022 Mar;41(3):489-494. doi: 10.1007/s10096-021-04383-3. 'A total of 449 BCs were analyzed. Sensitivities and specificities were 100% and 100% for Escherichia coli, 95.7% and 100% for Klebsiella pneumoniae, 100% and 100% for blaCTX-M, 100% and 100% for Klebsiella oxytoca, 100% and 99% for Proteus mirabilis, and 100% and 99.8% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. The time to result ranged from 8 to 16 min, plus about 6 min for sample preparation. The eazyplex® BloodScreen GN is a reliable molecular assay for rapid BC testing.'  Beyond SuperBug A modest investment in one of our Amplex LAMP instruments opens the door to reducing TATs for key infections. All our LAMP assays can be used with all our instruments. Reduce TATs for a wide range of key infections. These targets are covered by Amplex eazyplex® and deliver TATs in under 30 minutes.  The eazyplex® BloodScreen tests compose an easy-to-use and user-friendly test system that detects resistance targets within 30 minutes directly from positive blood cultures.
The eazyplex® BloodScreen products have these features in common. Easy to use and portable system Isothermal Amplification Testing directly from positive blood culture Real-time detection in < 30 minutes Lyophilised reagents |
Welcome to the BioConnections Blog!This is the official blog for BioConnections news on products and updates, information can also be found on our LinkedIn and the emails we send to you every Wednesday!
AuthorCallum Wood |
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