Microbiolog

Currently, three methods are used to culture rickettsiae and viruses: tissue culture, developing chick embryos, and infection of susceptible animals.

Tissue culture is a piece of an organ or individual cells of various tissues (cell culture) that live and multiply outside the body in a nutrient medium. Tissues are cultured in chemically pure, sterile glass containers made of neutral glass. Cultivation of viruses and rickettsiae can be carried out in growing and surviving tissues.

The culture of surviving tissues is more suitable for cultivating rickettsiae due to the fact that metabolic

Spirochetes of all types are grown on artificial nutrient media. The basis of the nutrient medium is rabbit or horse blood serum, both whole and diluted with isotonic sodium chloride solution in various ratios. Sometimes pieces of coagulated chicken egg white, rabbit kidney or liver, cattle liver, and fresh citrated blood are added to the serum. Cultivation is carried out under a layer of liquid paraffin or petroleum jelly at a pH of 7.8-8.4. The optimal growing temperature for Treponema is 35°C, for Leptospira and Borrelia 28-29°C.