LA County Department of Public Health - Public Health Laboratory

The Bacteriology laboratory emphasizes foodborne disease related testing, routinely culturing stool samples for Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Yersinia, E. coli 0157 and Vibrio species. Salmonella and Shigella serotyping, E. coli somatic and flagellar identification, and the detection of Shiga-like toxin by EIA are all performed to aid in disease investigation. Food product testing ranges from aerobic plate counts and coliform/E. coli counts for detecting mishandled food to Salmonella isolation and culture, with enumeration, of Staph. aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Clostridium perfringens. Botulism testing is performed on suspect foods and patient clinical specimens. Mouse neutralization testing is used to demonstrate the presence and type of botulinal toxin. Identification of Brucella cultures is made.

Other communicable diseases are addressed by performing: culture and DFA for Bordetella pertussis, serogrouping of Neisseria meningitidis, typing of Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and culture and in vitro virulence testing of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Clinical and environmental specimens are accepted for Legionella culture. An EIA for Legionella urinary antigen is also available.

PHL Code	Test information	Reference Range	Specimen Requirements
0110	Aerobic bacterial culture, routine	Normal flora	Clinical specimen, properly collected and submitted in transport system. Refrigerate.
0111	Aerobic bacterial culture, special		Clinical specimen, properly collected and submitted in transport system. Refrigerate. If submitting inoculated culture media, hold at room temperature.
0113	Aerobic bacterial culture, stool, Campylobacter only	None isolated	Collect 1-2 gm of feces about the size of a thumbnail in ParaPak® transport medium. For swab, insert sterile swab well into the rectum and rub mucosa. Repeat until visible fecal material adheres to the swab and transfer swab to ParaPak® transport medium. Break or cut swab to allow tight fit of screw cap.
0114	Aerobic bacterial culture, stool, Salmonella and Shigella only	No Salmonella or Shigella isolated	Collect 1-2 gm of feces about the size of a thumbnail in ParaPak® transport medium. For swab, insert sterile swab well into the rectum and rub mucosa. Repeat until visible fecal material adheres to the swab and transfer swab to ParaPak® transport medium. Break or cut swab to allow tight fit of screw cap.
0115	Aerobic bacterial culture, stool, Yersinia enterocolitica only	No Yersinia enterocolitica isolated	Collect 1-2 gm of feces about the size of a thumbnail in ParaPak® transport medium. For swab, insert sterile swab well into the rectum and rub mucosa. Repeat until visible fecal material adheres to the swab and transfer swab to ParaPak® transport medium. Break or cut swab to allow tight fit of screw cap.
0305	Aerobic Bacterial Culture, Stool, Vibrio Species Only	No Vibrio species isolated	Collect 1-2 gm of feces about the size of a thumbnail in ParaPak® transport medium. For swab, insert sterile swab well into the rectum and rub mucosa. Repeat until visible fecal material adheres to the swab and transfer swab to ParaPak® transport medium. Break or cut swab to allow tight fit of screw cap.
0118	Aerobic bacterial identification	By report	Pure culture
0119	Aerobic susceptibility by Disk Diffusion Method	By report. Studies performed on FDA approved drugs.	Pure culture
0120	Anaerobic bacterial culture, routine	No anaerobes isolated	Clinical specimen properly collected and transported under anaerobic conditions
0121	Anaerobic bacterial identification	By report	Pure culture
0131	Bordetella pertussis/ parapertussis culture & DFA	Negative	Nasopharyngeal swab submitted on Regan Lowe Medium. An air-dried, heat fixed smear may be submitted for the DFA procedure. Specimen collection
0132	Bordetella pertussis & parapertussis culture	No B. pertussis/parapertussis isolated	Nasopharyngeal swab submitted on Regan Lowe Medium.
0133	Bordetella pertussis/ parapertussis antigen detection, DFA	Negative	Nasopharyngeal swab in Regan Lowe Deep Medium or an air-dried and heat fixed smear for the DFA procedure.
	Botulism toxin assay - see test 0142
0135	Brucella identification	By report	Pure culture
0141	Clostridium botulinum culture	None isolated	See Specimen Submission Guidelines for Suspected Botulism
0142	Clostridium botulinum neutralization test	Negative	See Specimen Submission Guidelines for Suspected Botulism
0147	Corynebacterium diphtheriae culture -		Nasal Swab: Collect secretions from anterior nasal mucosa with sterile swab. Streak swab over surface of Loefflers agar slant or place in Bacterial Culturette®. Call the General Bacteriology Section for information and to obtain media.
0157	E. coli 0157:H7 Serotyping, Shiga-toxin positive strains	None detected	Pure culture of E. coli
0158	E. coli 0157:H7 Stool culture screen	No E. coli 0157 isolated	1 gram stool in Para Pak container
0159	E. coli Shiga toxin detection	None detected	Pure culture of E. coli or stool enrichment broth
	GC culture - see test 0227
0180	Haemophilus inflenzae serotyping (A-F), slide agglutination	By report	Pure culture on chocolate slant
	Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) - see test 0138, Chlamydia trachomatis Culture
0163	Molecular Strain typing analysis using pulsed field gel electroporesis (PFGE)	By Report	Consult with the PFGE bench at (562) 658-1421 before submitting specimens
0227	Neisseria gonorrhea culture	None isolated	Performed only for legal issues. Properly inoculate MTM chocolate agar pill pocket plate. Incubate plates until transport.
0228	Neisseria meningitidis serogrouping	By report	Pure culture on chocolate agar slant
	Pertussis culture and/or DFA - see test 0133
	Plague (Yersinia pestis) see test 0289
0260	Salmonella serogrouping, groups A-Z, 51-61 & VI	By report	Pure culture on agar slant
0261	Salmonella serotyping	By report	Pure culture on agar slant
	Salmonella/Shigella culture - see test 0114
0262	Shigella serotyping	By report	Pure culture on agar slant
	Stool culture -see test 0112
	Whooping cough culture see test 0132
	Yersinia stool culture -see test 0115