Skip to main content

Some NLM-NCBI services and products are experiencing heavy traffic, which may affect performance and availability. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. For assistance, please contact our Help Desk at info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1982 Jan;15(1):19–24. doi: 10.1128/jcm.15.1.19-24.1982

Identification of Gardnerella (Haemophilus) vaginalis.

P Piot, E Van Dyck, P A Totten, K K Holmes
PMCID: PMC272015  PMID: 6821205

Abstract

Different tests for the identification of Gardnerella (Haemophilus) vaginalis and for its differentiation from catalase-negative unclassified coryneforms from the vagina were evaluated on over 200 bacterial strains, with special emphasis on optimal test conditions. A presumptive identification of G. vaginalis in the clinical laboratory can be made on the basis of colonial morphology, clear beta-hemolysis with diffuse edges on human blood bilayer-Tween agar, a negative catalase test, and typical cell morphology in the Gram stain. This procedure will correctly identify 90 to 98% of suspect colonies of G. vaginalis with human blood bilayer-Tween agar as primary isolation medium. Useful additional reactions for the confirmation of G. vaginalis include positive hippurate and starch hydrolysis, positive alpha-glucosidase but negative beta-glucosidase tests, the production of acid from glucose and maltose but not from mannitol, and susceptibility to disks containing metronidazole, nitrofurantoin, sulfonamides, and bile.

Full text

PDF
19

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bailey R. K., Voss J. L., Smith R. F. Factors affecting isolation and identification of Haemophilus vaginalis (Corynebacterium vaginale). J Clin Microbiol. 1979 Jan;9(1):65–71. doi: 10.1128/jcm.9.1.65-71.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Dunkelberg W. E., Jr, McVeigh I. Growth requirements of Haemophilus vaginalis. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1969;35(2):129–145. doi: 10.1007/BF02219124. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dunkelberg W. E., Jr, Skaggs R., Kellogg D. S., Jr A study and new description of Corynebacterium vaginale (Haemophilus vaginalis). Am J Clin Pathol. 1970 Mar;53(3):370–377. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/53.3.370. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dunkelberg W. E., Jr, Skaggs R., Kellogg D. S., Jr Method for isolation and identification of Corynebacterium vaginale (Haemophilus vaginalis). Appl Microbiol. 1970 Jan;19(1):47–52. doi: 10.1128/am.19.1.47-52.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Greenwood J. R., Pickett M. J. Salient features of Haemophilus vaginalis. J Clin Microbiol. 1979 Feb;9(2):200–204. doi: 10.1128/jcm.9.2.200-204.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Harvey S. M. Hippurate hydrolysis by Campylobacter fetus. J Clin Microbiol. 1980 Apr;11(4):435–437. doi: 10.1128/jcm.11.4.435-437.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Malone B. H., Schreiber M., Schneider N. J., Holdeman L. V. Obligately anaerobic strains of Corynebacterium vaginale (Haemophilus vaginalis). J Clin Microbiol. 1975 Sep;2(3):272–275. doi: 10.1128/jcm.2.3.272-275.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Piot P., van Dyck E., Goodfellow M., Falkow S. A taxonomic study of Gardnerella vaginalis (Haemophilus vaginalis) Gardner and Dukes 1955. J Gen Microbiol. 1980 Aug;119(2):373–396. doi: 10.1099/00221287-119-2-373. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Smith R. F. New medium for isolation of Corynebacterium vaginale from genital specimens. Health Lab Sci. 1975 Jul;12(3):219–224. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Smith R. F., Voss J. L., Bailey R. K. Tellurite reduction test to aid in the recognition of Corynebacterium vaginale. J Clin Microbiol. 1977 Mar;5(3):375–377. doi: 10.1128/jcm.5.3.375-377.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Totten P. A., Amsel R., Hale J., Piot P., Holmes K. K. Selective differential human blood bilayer media for isolation of Gardnerella (Haemophilus) vaginalis. J Clin Microbiol. 1982 Jan;15(1):141–147. doi: 10.1128/jcm.15.1.141-147.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Vecchio T. J. Predictive value of a single diagnostic test in unselected populations. N Engl J Med. 1966 May 26;274(21):1171–1173. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196605262742104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES