Ruling Out Bacillus anthracis

Abstract

Optimization of methods for ruling out Bacillus anthracis leads to increased yields, faster turnaround times, and a lighter workload. We used 72 environmental non–B. anthracis bacilli to validate methods for ruling out B. anthracis. Most effective were horse blood agar, motility testing after a 2-h incubation in trypticase soy broth, and screening with a B. anthracis–selective agar.

Keywords

• Bacillus anthracis
• PCR
• motility
• hemolysis
• bioterrorism
• PLET agar