A microbiology technician performs the weekly MIC QC test using a strain of E. coli with the following results:   QC Ranges (μg/mL) Lab’s QC Value (μg/mL) Cephalothin 4-16 8 Ampicillin 2-8 4 Gentamicin 0.25-1 1 The tech followed all procedures and is evaluating the results.  What should the technician do next?

Laboratory professionals are at special risk for disease transmission. The majority of cases of laboratory-related infections are associated with:

A twofold serial dilution is performed in 1.0 ml amounts from a MH broth containing ampicillin.  Tubes 1 through 11 are incubated overnight at 35 degrees C.  Tubes 6 through 11 show visible turbidity while tubes 1 through 5 show no signs of growth.  Tubes 1 through 5 are plated on blood agar and incubated overnight.  Plates 1 through 4 show no growth, while several colonies are observed on plate 5.  The MIC would be determined from which tube?

When concentrating specimens one problem with the zinc sulfate flotation method is:

An isolate from a corneal infection had the following culture results: white cottony colony at 2 days on SAB, rose colored at 6 days on SAB, slide culture=slender shaped micro and macroconidia. The most likely organism is:

An 18 year old female was seen by her physician for fever, lethargy, and arthritis.  On physical examination, a red rash was identified.  Which of the following is best to identify the agent of this rash illness?

The first step in polymerase chain reaction is:

Soft cheese imported from Mexico was implicated as the source in an outbreak of meningitis that occurred among attendees of a large company picnic. Gram-positive, nonspore forming, motile, coccobacilli were isolated from the cheese that had been stored in the cold. The organism most likely responsible for this outbreak is:

An isolate from an immunosuppressed patient’s CSF growing on cornmeal agar produces the following structures: contains blastospores, no pseudohyphae, arthrospores, or chlamydospores.  What tests should be performed next?

A helminth egg is described as having terminal polar plugs.  The most likely helminth is: