Selective Recovery of Oral Capnocytophaga Spp. with Sheep Blood Agar Containing Bacitracin and Polymyxin B

On the basis of in vitro susceptibility testing of antibiotics, dyes, and other antimicrobial agents, we developed and evaluated a medium, TBBP, for the selective isolation of oral Capnocytophaga spp. TBBP medium consists of 4% Trypticase soy agar (BBL Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, Md.), 5% sheep blood, 0.1% yeast extract, 50 micrograms of bacitracin per ml, and 100 micrograms of polymyxin B per ml. A total of 34 Capnocytophaga stock cultures grew well on TBBP medium. Except for some streptococcal strains, TBBP medium inhibited growth of all test stock culture isolates of common oral gram-positive and gram-negative species. In a clinical study of 15 deep periodontal pockets, TBBP medium demonstrated Capnocytophaga recoverability that was similar to or higher than that shown by a nonselective blood agar medium. Typical Capnocytophaga colonial morphology enabled us to readily distinguish this organism from the few other bacteria which could grow on TBBP medium.