New Culture Media For The Identification Of Yeast Infections

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Local company battles candida bacteria

By Times Staff

Santa Maria Times

February 9, 2008

 

Hardy Diagnostics in Santa Maria has released a new culture media

product, HardyCHROM Candida, to be used in clinical laboratories in

the identification of yeast infections.

 

Due to an increasing use of antibiotics capable of eliminating

bacterial infections, many patients are now finding themselves the

victims of yeast infections, said Jay Hardy, president of Hardy

Diagnostics.

 

Many times, when bacteria are killed by antibiotics, an overgrowth of

yeast takes over due to the lack of bacterial competition, Hardy

explained.

 

Specimens collected from the patient are transported to a lab, where

HardyCHROM Candida, a new formula of culture medium contained in a

petri dish, can make it easy for a microbiologist to isolate and

identify the yeast species infecting the patient, he said.

 

The infection is usually from a species of candida, which is becoming

a growing concern among physicians, especially in hospitals

 

The chromogenic substances in the HardyCHROM formula turn the

colonies of yeast various colors, making it simple for a laboratory

technologist to identify the organism and report back to the

physician, who will then prescribe appropriate therapy, Hardy said.

 

HardyCHROM Candida represents a significant advance in the

identification of yeast because of the shorter period of time it

takes to complete the identification and the simplicity of the visual

observation without having to perform further testing, he said.

 

This medium facilitates the recognition of mixed yeast cultures and

the identification of Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, C. krusei and

C. galabrata.

 

Hardy Diagnostics plans to market the product to its hospital clients

throughout the United States.

 

The new product is the result of nearly a year of work by two

researchers, Rene Clasen and Wendy Phillips.

 

Clasen, the director of technical services, has a background in

public health microbiology, and worked for Santa Barbara County for

more than 20 years.

 

Phillips earned a master's degree in microbiology at Cal Poly and has

supervised the quality control lab at Hardy Diagnostics since 2005.

 

Hardy Diagnostics is an FDA-licensed and ISO-certified manufacturer

of medical devices for microbiological procedures in clinical and

industrial laboratories.

 

More than 2,600 microbiology products are manufactured at the

company's headquarters in Santa Maria, where it employs 180 workers.

 

Santa Maria Times