Quantitative Approach in Clinical Microbiology: A Paradigm Shift Toward Culture-Free Methods
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Zhiheng Pei; Dervla Kelly; Nigar Anjuman Khurram; Richard A. Hickman
- Source
- Advanced Techniques in Diagnostic Microbiology ISBN: 9783319951102
- Subject
- 0301 basic medicine
Bacterial population
Disease
Biology
humanities
03 medical and health sciences
Clinical microbiology
030104 developmental biology
0302 clinical medicine
Evolutionary biology
Infectious disease (medical specialty)
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
Paradigm shift
Bacteriology
Microbiome
Suspect
- Language
Traditional diagnostic methods in clinical bacteriology rely heavily on the culturing of single pathogen colonies. These techniques have three main drawbacks: they depend on the bacteria being able to reproduce in a culture medium, they often take several days before a conclusive result is obtained, and they require that clinicians suspect a causative infectious disease agent in order to set up pathogen-specific culturing conditions. Furthermore, the famous Robert Koch thesis of one pathogen–one disease has been superseded by the concept that shifts in local human microbial communities are linked with disease states and progress. The symbiotic relationship between the host and microbiome has led scientists to believe that an individuals’ disease susceptibility is affected by their bacterial population and evidence is growing that polypathogenic diseases may exist.