Pulmonary infections can be caused by two kinds of infection: viral infection or bacterial infection. Initially the type of infection can be roughly determined through the symptoms observed in the patient. According to the symptoms, the patient coughs and exhibited signs of ptosis. The patient also has shortness of breath and respiratory distress. The core temperature of the patient measured 102 degrees F. The pulmonary infection can be assumed to be a bacterial infection because viral infection usually has colds with it.
To be able to determine the type of bacterial infection, a sample of the patience sputum should swab over a nutrient agar plate so that it could be cultured for experimentation. The first procedure to be done is determining the gram type of the bacteria by gram staining. If the bacteria retain its purple color after the staining process then it can be classified as a Gram + bacteria. If it does not retain the purple color, then it is classified as a Gram – bacteria. A second culture should be created using a selective medium.
Selective medium is used for the purpose of determining the nutrient requirement of the bacterium. The bacterium should also be inoculated in nutrient tubes to determine whether they are aerobic or anaerobic bacteria. If the bacteria stay mostly at the surface of the nutrient agar, then it is considered obligate aerobic which requires the maximum amount of oxygen. If the bacteria settle at the bottom of the test tube to avoid oxygen, then the bacteria can be considered as obligate anaerobic.
The bacterium should be culture in varying salt concentration to determine if they are halophilic or not. If the bacteria grow on high salt concentration, then it can be classified as a halophile. The bacterium’s identity can be determined by different series of test. A theoretical research should also accompany the bacterial identification to prevent doing unnecessary testing. A test should give a result that would be relevant to the identification of the bacteria.
Reference Ryan KJ, Ray CG (editors) (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology (4th ed. ed. ). McGraw Hill. ISBN