UPDATED TABLE FROM MAHON’S TEXTBOOK!!!!

Organisms Specimen Isolation Serological tests

Legionella/ Legionella Blood, Sputum, Isolated on IFA, EIA, ICT,

pneumophila bronchoalveolar Buffered charcoal–
lavage, bronchial yeast extract ICT, immunochromatographic
test;
(BCYE) agar
washings
EIA, enzyme immunoassay;

DFA Direct IFA, indirect fluorescent

fluorescent antibody
antibody
Urine antigen
test(rapid)

Brucella Blood, CSF, synovial Isolating in BAP, PCR

fluid, pleural fluid and CHOC, BYCE
abscesses

Bordetella/ Bordetella Reparatory tract Isolated in Bordet– PCR, EIA,

pertussis. Gengou potato
Nasopharyngeal infusion agar and
aspirates or swabs Rogan-lowe agar

Syphilis/ Treponema Lesions or primary Observed by dark Nontreponemal tests-

pallidum and secondary syphilis field microscopy. Venereal Disease
Research Laboratory
demonstration of (VDRL) test and the
rapid plasma reagin
motile treponemes in
(RPR) test.
material from the
chancre is diagnostic
Treponemal test
for primary syphilis. methods-Treponema
pallidum–particulate
agglutination (TP-PA)
test, EIAs eg- FTA_ABS.

Flocculation.
Lyme’s disease/ Urine, CSF IFA, EIA, WB
Borrelia burgdorferi
Positive or equivocal
results are confirmed
with IgM and/or just IgG
Western blot, depending
on whether symptoms
were present for longer
 than 30 days (IgG only).

Leptospirosis/Leptospires Blood, CSF, urine Freshly drawn ELISA

(first week) blood or CSF into
media such as Macroscopic slide
Fletcher, Stuart or agglutination test for
EMJH medium. rapid screening.

Incubate in dark at Gold standard

room temp, microscopic
examine for agglutination tests for
turbidity, haze or detecting leptospiral
ring of growth. antibodies.

16S ibosomal
ribonucleic acid
sequencing, mass
spectrometry also
provides accurate
species
identification.

Chlamydia/ first morning voided Direct microscopic Nucleic Acid

STD urine or men examination. Hybridization and
Trachoma/ Amplification Assays
Chlamydia trachomatis Fluorescein (NAAT)
vaginal swab of
women, labeled
monoclonal EIA
urine is acceptable antibodies to
from women. detect chlamydial
inclusions.
rickettsia rickettsii/ Rocky Blood, IFA-
Mountain immunofluorescent
spotted fever antibody test.
Rickettsia typhi/ Typhus RMSF- agglutination
test using beads coated
with rickettsial
antigens.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae Sputum, not visible by gram EIA, ICT, IFA

nasopharyngeal, CSF, stain.

DNA fluorescent
 stain.

SP4 broth

Mycoplasma hominis Vaginal swabs, not visible by gram

cervical swabs. stain.

SBA, CHOC,

SP4 broth, requires

arginine broth,

Ureaplasma urealyticum Requires urea

broth,

Ureaplasma spp. also

require media to have
a pH near 6.0
(Shepherd 10B
arginine broth) with a
buffer to maintain the
pH.