Anaerobic bacteria may be involved in virtually any type of bacterial infection at any site in the body. Often they are part of a mixed flora, but some infections involve only anaerobes. Despite frequently being the principal cause of infection, anaerobes may be readily overlooked in infectious processes. Ironically, this is partly because of the antimicrobials available with excellent activity against anaerobes, and partly because of the failure to identify anaerobes -- the latter sometimes is a result of reduced budgets in clinical laboratories. Unfortunately, these antimicrobials can have serious consequences, including increased expense -- many of these antibiotics are expensive -- and the real risk of increased resistance to these agents. Of course, the most important immediate effect may be harm to the patient. There is a critical need for the Wadsworth-KTL Anaerobic Bacteriology Manual. Although the authors emphasize practical approaches to anaerobic bacteriology for clinical laboratories, they provide additional information on more specialized techniques and procedures for the study and identification of more fastidious organisms. In this sixth edition, you'll find new identification methods, with new color-coded flow charts that illustrate procedures succinctly. Furthermore, the authors provide collection and transport techniques, and susceptibility data that are essential to clinicians and laboratory personnel. New, detailed information on recent taxonomic changes of anaerobic bacteria is also provided. Book jacket.