Veterinary Chemical · Generic
Urea agar base
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Urea agar base (Christensen’s medium) is a differential culture medium used in veterinary diagnostics to identify and separate microorganisms based on their urease enzyme activity. It is vital for detecting specific zoonotic pathogens and diagnosing infections across various animal species.
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Specs & features.
In veterinary microbiology, the primary goal of the urease test is to rapidly distinguish rapid urease-producing pathogens (such as Proteus spp.) from slower, non-lactose fermenting enteric bacteria like Salmonella and Shigella. It is also highly valuable for screening and identifying certain fungal, respiratory, and reproductive pathogens in domestic and farm animals.
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- Indicator: Contains phenol red, a pH indicator that transitions color based on alkalinity.
- The Principle: When an organism produces the urease enzyme, it hydrolyzes the urea in the agar into ammonia and carbon dioxide. The resulting accumulation of ammonia creates an alkaline environment, shifting the color of the medium from yellowish-orange to a bright magenta/pink-red.
- Sensitivity: Unlike older, highly buffered urease media, the Christensen formulation is lightly buffered. This allows it to detect even small amounts of alkali produced by weak or delayed-urease producers.
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