Spotters- questions and answvers
Instruments
1. Wire loop
a) ldentify the spotter
Nichrome wire loop/ bacteriological loop/ inoculating loop.
b) What metal is it made of?
Nichrome.
c) How do you sterilize it?
Flaming using Bunsen burner till the loop is red hot
d) Mention its use
Used for inoculation of samples and streaking on culture media.
2. VDRL slide
a) Identify the spotter
It is a VDRL (Venereal Diseases Research Laboratory) slide.
b) What is it used for?
Standard test for syphilis
c)What kind of an antigen antibody reaction is this?
Slide flocculation test
d) Is this specific or non-specific
Non-specific
3. Scitz filter
a) Identify the spotter
Seitz filter
b)What is the pore size ofthe filter?
0.22um
c) What are its uses
Removal of bacteria from serum, sugar media and other heat labile liquid
medium
d) Mention methods of cold sterilization
lonising radiation
4. Mc IntoshFildes jar
a) Identify the spotter
Mcintosh Fildes jar
b) What is its use?
Anaerobic cultivation
c) Mention other methods
Robertson's cooked meat broth, Gas Pak jar, anaerobic glove box
d) Name the common drug used in the treatment of anaerobic infection
Metronidazole
5. Petridish
a) Identify the
spotter
Glass petridish
b)What are its uses?
It used to
prepare solid culture media for routine culture like blood
nutrient agar, agar,
MacConkey agar
c) How do you sterilize it?
Hot air oven
d) What is the
percentage of agar used to
prepare solid media?
2%
6. Tuberculin syringe
a) ldentify the spotter
Tuberculin syringe
b) What are its uses?
It is used for
intradermal injection of rabies vaccine, BCG vaccine, Mantoux
test, insulin injections
c) How is it sterilized?
Ionizing radiation
7. Widal test
A 20year old female was
hospitalized with complaint of high fever (step ladder type)
on observation rose spots were seen. Blood
sample was collected from her and this
serological test was done.
a) What is this test?
Widal test
b) What is the disease suspected?
Enteric fever
c) Define significant titre
Highest dilution at which agglutination is seen is considered as the significant
titre
d) What kind of an antigen antibody reaction is this?
Tube agglutination test
8. Microtitre strips
a) Identify the spotter
Microtitre strips
b) What are its uses?
Used for performing serological tests like ELISA, TPHA
c) How is it sterilized?
Ionizing radiation
d) What are the different types of ELISA?
Direct ELISA, Indirect ELISA, Sandwich ELISA, Competitive ELISA
9. Sterile swab
a) ldentify the spotter
Sterile cotton swab
b) What are its uses?
skin, ulcers etc
To colect samples firom infected areas of throat, ear,
c)Howdo you sterilize it?
Radiation
d) What other materials that can be used to prepare this?
are
colton swabs
Rayon swabs, Dacron swabs, calcium alginate
10. HIV tridot
a) ldentity the spotter
HIV Tridot test cassette
b) What type of a test is this?
It is a rapid screening test for HIV
c) Principle of the test
It is based on the principle of immunochromatography
d) Confirmatory test for the disease
viral RNA detection, proviral DNA detection
Detection of p24 antigen,
11. Disposable syringe
a) Identify the spotter
Disposable syringe
b)What are its uses?
It is used for injection of drugs parenterally, for collecting blood from peripheral
veins to perform laboratory tests
c) How is it sterilized?
lonizing radiation
12. Gloves
a) Identify the spotter
Latex gloves
b) What are its uses?
Used as a personal protective equipment
c) How is it sterilized?
lonizing radiation/ autoclave
d) Mention two other personal protective equipment used
Mask, Gown, Goggles, Boots
Media- uninoculated
13. Mannitol motility media
a) Identify the medium
Mannitol motility medium
b) What are its uses?
To demonstrate
mannitol fermentation and motility of
c) What is the indicator used in this medium? bacteria
Phenol red
d) What type of a media is it?
Semisolid medium
14. Citrate media
a) What is this test?
Citrate test
b) What is the principle of this test?
Utilization of citrate as a sole source of carbon for growth by bacteria
c) Name two organisms positive for this test.
Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Enterobacter
d) What is the indicator used in this medium?
Bromothymol blue
15. Urease media
a) What is this test?
Urcase test
b) What is the principle of this test?
Conversion of urea to ammonia by urease producing bacteria
c) Name two organisms positive for this test
Klebsiella, Proteus, Helicobacter pylori
d) What is the indicator used in this medium?
Phenol red
16. Nutrient agar
a) What is the medium?
Nutrient agar
b) What are its uses?
As a basal media for growing non-fastidious organisms, as a base for other
enriched media like Blood agar, chocolate agar etc
c) What are the characteristics that can be observed on this medium?
Pigment production, colony morphology
d) Mention 2 other basal media
Nutrient broth, peptone water
17. Blood agar
a) What is this medium?
Blood agar
b) What kind of a medium is this?
Enriched medium
c) Mention its uses
Growing organisms that are more exacting in their nutritional requirements, to
demonstrate haemolysis
d) Define enriched media
Basal media enriched with specific substances like blood, serum or egs
18. MacConkey agar
a) What is this medium?
MacConkey agar
b) What is it used for?
Used for grovwing gram-negative bacteria and differentiate them into lactose
fermenting and non-lactose fermenting bacteria
c)What is the indicatorused in this medium?
Neutral red
d) What type of a media is it?
Differential media/ Indicator media
19. Chocolate agar
a) What is this medium?
Chocolate agar
b)What is it used for?
It is used to cultivate Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria
gonorrhoeae
c) How is it prepared?
Prepared by adding sheep blood to nutrient agar base at high temperature like
95C causing the blood to lyse giving the media its colour
d) What are the causative agents of urethritis?
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Ureaplasmaurealyticum, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia
20. Sabouraud's dextrose agar
a) What is this medium?
Sabouraud's dextrose agar
b) Mention its uses
Used for fungal culture
c) What is the pH of this medium?
5.6
d) What are the different modifications of this medium?
Neutral SDA, SDA with Chloramphenicol, SDA with cycloheximide
21. Blood culture bottle
a) Identify the spotter
Automated blood culture bottle
b)What is the medium used in the bottle?
Soyabean casein digest broth- enriched medium
c)What is it used for? and other sterile
blood culture systenms for culturing blood
It is used in automated
body fluids
cultures
the conventional blood
d) Advantages of this over
subcultures and
manua
Constant incubation, faster turnaround time, repeated
contamination is avoided
broth
22. Robertson's cooked meat
a) Identify the spotter
Robertson's cooked meat broth
b)What is its use?
Anaerobic cultivation
c) Mention other methods
Prereduced anaerobic
Mclntosh Fildes jar, Gas Pak jar,
anaerobic infection
Name some c o m m o n organisms causing
d) Clostridium botulinum,
Clostridium tetanus,
Clostridium perfringens,
Peptostreptococcus
salt sucrose agar (TCBs)
23. Thiosulphate citrate bile
medium
a) ldentify the (TCBS)
salt
Thiosulphate citrate bile agar
sucrose
it used for?
b) What organism is
Vibrio cholerae
c)What type of a medium is it?
Selective medium
d) What is the indicator used?
Bromothymol blue
24. Thioglycolate broth
a) Identify the medium
Thioglycolate broth
b) What type of a medium is it?
Enriched liquid medium
c)What are its uses?
It is used for anaerobic culture and for cultivation of bacteria from samples like
pus, tissue etc
medium?
d) What is the reducing agent in this
Sodium thioglycolate, resazurin dye
Media- inoculatcd
25. MacConkey agar with non-lactose fermenting colonies
following
Ihis is a urine culture done in the case of a urinary tract infection
catheterization
a) What is this medium?
MacConkey agar
b) What is the type of growth seen?
Non-lactose fermenting type of growth
c) Name some bacteria that show this type of growth.
Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Proteus
d)What is significant bacteriuria?
10° CFU/ml
26. MacConkey agar with lactose fermenting colonies
This is the urine culture of a case of uncomplicated urinary infection
a) What is this medium?
MacConkey agar
seen?
b) What is the type of growth
Lactose fermenting type of growth
some bacteria that show this type
of growth.
c) Name
Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Citrobacter
d) What is responsible for the colour of this growth?
Fermentation of lactose by bacteria
27. Blood agar with B lysis
Pus from a case of infected wound is grown in this medium. Gram stained smear
showed gram positive cocci in clusters
a) What is the medium used?
Blood agar
b) What is the type of haemolysis seen?
haemolysis
cWhat is the suspected organism?
Staphylococcus aureus
d) What is MRSA?
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
28. AST plate
a) What is this medium?
Mueller Hinton agar
b) What is this test?
Antimicrobial susceptibility test
c) What is the method used?
Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method
d) What is MIC?
MIC iS minimum inhibitory concentration- it is the lowest concentration of an
antimicrobial agent that will inhibit visible growth of a microorganism after
overnight incubation
29. SDA with
Aspergillus
a) What is the medium used?
Sabouraud's dextrose agar
b) What is the organism?
Aspergillus
)What is the name ofthe stain used to observe fungi under the microscope?
Lactophenol cotton blue (LPCB)
d) What is the method used to observe the undisturbed morphology of the fungus
under a microscope?
Slide culture technique
30. Proteus- swarming growth
a) What is the characteristic feature of this growth?
Swarming growth
b) Which is the organism suspected?
Proteus species
c) Is it a motile or non-motile organism?
Motile organism
d) What are the OX strains of this bacteria used for?
Used for heterophile agglutination test for Rickettsial infection- Weil
Felix test
31. Indole test
a) Identify the spotter
Indole test
b) Write the principle of this test?
To detect the ability of the bacteria
[Link] indole as a
by-product of reduction
of tryptophan by the enzyme
tryptophanase
c) Name 2 organisms that give positive result
Escherichia, Citrobacter
d) What is the name of the reagent used?
Kovac's reagent
32. Coagulasc test
a) ldentify the spotter
Coagulase test
b)What is the principle?
Free
coagulase produced by
proteins present in the Staphylococcus aureus
coagulates the coagulation
c) This test is used for plasma used in this test within 4 hours of incubation
the identification of which
identify Staphylococcus aureus fromorganism?
lt is used to
d) Name two exotoxins other staphylococCi
produced by this organism
Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome toxin, Toxic
Shock Syndrome toxin,
Epidermolytic toxin, Enterotoxin A and B
Slides
33. Staphylococcus
Gram stain smear of an
organism cultured from pus is focused
a) Identify the organism
Staphylococcus
b) Mention two identifying features
Gram positive cocci,
arranged in clusters
c) Mention two superficial skin conditions caused by this organism
Carbuncle, furuncle
d) Mention 1 special media used to demonstrate the
Milk agar pigmentation of this organism
34. Streptocoecus
Gram stain smear of an organism cultured from
throat swab is focused
a) Identify the organism
Streptococcus
b) Mention two identifying features
Gram positive cocci, arranged in chains
c) How is this genus classified?
Based on the haemolytic
property into 3 groups- a
haemolysis, Bhaemolysis, y
haemolysis
d) Mention two post infectious
Post streptococcal
complications of this organism?
glomerulonephritis, Rheumatic heart disease
35. Mycobacterium leprae
a) Identify the organism
Mycobacterium leprae
b) What is the staining method used?
Modified acid-fast staining
using 5% H2SO4
c) Is this organism cultivable?
It is not cultivable in
artificial culture media
d) What is the disease caused this
by organism?
Lepromatous leprosy and tuberculoid leprosy
3 /20 1/ 0 0
Alberts stain
36. Corynebacterium diphtheriae-
a. Identify the organism
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
b. What is the staining method
used?
Alberts stain
seen?
c. What is the characteristic feature
Metachromatic granules are seen at the terminal ends of green coloured bacilli
d. What is the vaccine used to prevent this disease?
vaccine in combination with tetanus and pertussis
Diphtheria toxoid is used as
as a trivalent vaccine DPT
37. Candida
oral thrush is focused
Gram stain smear of an organism cultured from
a) Identify the organism
Candida species
b) identifying features
Mention two
Gram positive yeast cell, budding seen
this organism?
c) Name the culture media used for growing
Sabouraud's dextrose agar
fungal infections
d) Name two opportunistic
Candidiasis, Apergillosis, Penicilliosis
38. Aspergillus
focused
a) Identify the organism
Aspergillus species
b)Which is the stain used?
Lactophenol cotton blue (LPCB)
c) Mention two identifying features
It is a fungus made of septate hyphae, with conidiophores, vesicles, phialides and
asexual conidia arranged in chains
d) Mention the diseases caused by this organism
Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), aspergilloma, Invasive
pulmonary aspergillosis
39. Rhinosporidiosis
a) Identify the spotter
Rhinosporidiosis
b) Write two points to support your identification
i. Spherules are seen containing sporangia
. Sporangia shows presence of endospores
c)What are the common sites affected?
Nose is most common, followed by conjunctiva, ears, larynx, bronchus
d) What is the causative agent?
Rhinosporidiumseeberi
187/3201/0 0 Specimens
40. Hydatid cyst
The
specimen is a surgically removed
a) ldentify the specimen cyst from the liver
Hydatid cyst specimen
b) What is the causative
agent?
Echinococcus granulosus
c) What are the methods
employed for diagnosis?
Ultrasound, CT scan, ELISA,
d) What kind of a host is Casoni's
intradermal test
man?
Man is a dead-end
host or an accidental host
41. Roundworm
a) Name the worm
Ascaris lumbricoides/ Roundworm
b) Method employed for
laboratory
Detection of ova in faeces, larvae diagnosis
of this infection
in gastric
c) Complications of this infection aspirate
Loefler's syndrome, small bowel obstruction
d) Drug of choice for treatment of this
infection
Albendazole
Disinfectants
42. Formaldehyde
a) What is this chemical agent used for?
Disinfection, fumigation, preservative
b) What is its action
on bacteria,
spores and viruses?
Bactericidal, sporicidal and has lethal effect on viruses
c) What are the disadvantages associated with it?
Toxic gas, irritant gas,
allergic dermatitis
d) Mention one other chemical disinfectant
Glutaraldehyde
43. Phenol
a) What is it used for?
Disinfection
b) Comment on its antiviral
activity?
Very minimal antiviral activity
c) Is it sporicidal?
Not sporicidal
d) Name a chemical agent that is
sporicidal
Formaldehyde
PC 187832021/1000000 S
4. Chlorhexidine
a) What is this chemical?
Chlorhexidine
b)What is its use?
Used as an antiseptic hand wash or hand rub, used in bath water in patients who
are MRSA carriers
c) What percentage of this chemical is used
as a surgical hand wash?
4%
45. Sodium hypochlorite
a) What is this chemical?
Sodium hypochlorite
b) What is the percentage of this chemical used in routine laboratory?
1%
c)What precautions need to be taken while using this chemical?
The main component is chlorine which is a gas and hence it needs to be prepared
freshly every 6 hrs and used.
d) What are its uses?
Used as a laboratory disinfectant.
Vaccines
46. MMR vaccine
a) Identify the spotter
Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine
b) Dosage and route of administration.
0.5ml, subcutaneous route
c) Schedule of the vaccine
2 doses- 1s" at 12-15 months and 2"d at 5 years
d) Strains of the viruses used
Measles- Edmonston Zagreb strain, Mumps- Jeryl Lynn strain, Rubella- Wistar
RA-27/3strain
47. OPV
a) Identify the spotter
Oral polio vaccine
b) Dosage and route of administration.
2 drops, given orally
c) Schedule of the vaccine
5 doses- at birth, then 3 doses at 6,10,14 weeks, then booster at 16-24 months
d) Component of the vaccine
Live attenuated strains of type 1 and 3 Polio virus strains stabilized in MgCl2
SPC. 18704/2022/1000000. s .
48. DPT vaccine
a) Identify the spotter
Diphtheria, Pertussis and tetanus vaccine
b) Dosage and route of administration.
0.5ml, deep IM anterolateral aspect of thigh
c) Schedule of the vaccine
Three doses at 6, 10, 14 weeks of birth, then two boosters at 15-18 months and 5
years.
d) Component of the vaccine
Diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid and killed Pertussis bacteria in a thiomersal
preservative
49. BCG vaccine
a) Identify the spotter
Bacillus Calmette Guerin vaceine for tuberculosis
b) Dosage and route of administration.
0.1ml, intradermal at deltoid region
c) Schedule of the vaccine
One dose at birth
d) Component of the vaccine
Live attenuated Mycobacterium bovis WHO strain (Danish 1331)
50. Hep.B vaccine
a) Identify the spotter
Hepatitis B vaccine
of administration.
b) Dosage and route
0.5m1, IM at the deltoid region
c) What level of the antibody is considered protective?
titre Anti-HBs is >10mIU/ml is considered to be protective
Antibody
d) Schedule of the vaccine
3 doses-0,1, 6 months in adults
In infants-3 doses at 6,10,14 weeks after birth