Casella CEL Airborne bacteria sampler - Manual (Page 3)

1. INTRODUCTION & APPLICATION
Airborne bacteria have for a long time been recognised as the causal agents
of infectious diseases, particularly those of the respiratory tract. In clinical
environments there is the possibility that such organisms can lead to serious
infections of wounds and burns and result in infection during surgical
operations. The production of many foods (especially dairy produce) and
pharmaceutical products can be contaminated by micro organisms, one
potential route being airborne bacteria, resulting in the loss of product. In
addition there is growing interest in healthy working environments,
particularly in large office complexes. In such instances air quality is a major
consideration and the level of airborne bacteria present an issue. As a result
there are a range of areas in which the concentration of airborne bacteria
may require evaluation, as well as the identification of the species present
and their time of occurrence.
The Casella Airborne Bacteria Sampler has been developed to facilitate the
determination of airborne bacteria concentrations and types, by the collection
of airborne bacteria on agar plates, which can be incubated so that individual
bacteria form colonies which can then be counted by standard plate counting
techniques. The sampler is designed for ease of use and is based on an
original design developed by Drs. Bourdillion, Lidwell and Thomas of the
Medical Research Council.
References to this instrument have been made in the “Suggested
bacteriological standards for air in ultraclean operating rooms”
by W.Whyte, E.J.L.Lowbury, and R.Blowers in the Journal of Hospital
Infection (1983) 4, 133-139.
Introduction
Page 3 of 16
BACTERIA SAMPLER
User Manual