Manual for the Laboratory Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Bacterial Pathogens of Public Health Importance in the
Developing World

Now Available:

Manual for the Laboratory Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Bacterial Pathogens of Public Health Importance in the Developing World

Antimicrobial resistance is an issue of great significance for public health at the global level as the antimicrobial resistance of the bacterial pathogens that contribute significantly to the burden of pneumonia, meningitis, reproductive tract infections, and diarrheal disease has increased.

The “Manual for the Laboratory Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Bacterial Pathogens of Public Health Importance in the Developing World: Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Salmonella serotype Typhi, Shigella, and Vibrio cholerae” is a comprehensive, 350+ page book intended for use by reference laboratorians in resource-limited settings. Spiral-bound, with full-color figures and tables, its ten chapters and fifteen appendices provide laboratorians with methods for quality-controlled primary isolation, identification, and standardized antimicrobial susceptibility testing and interpretation, as well as pointers for safe and proper specimen collection, transport, shipping, media preparation, and laboratory safety.

The “Manual…” also offers guidance for public health decision-makers, including resource requirements for appropriate conduct and interpretation of these tests.

Developed by microbiologists and epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), this document was published in 2003 and offers readers the up-to-date public health and scientific knowledge of the international community.

View and download the manual (as PDF files) from the WHO Communicable Disease Surveillance & Response (CSR) website.

The manual can be ordered free of charge from

CDS Information Resource Centre
World Health Organization
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Fax: +4122-7914285
E-mail: cdsdoc@who.int

When ordering from WHO, refer to publication number: WHO/CDS/CSR/RMD/2003.6

Copies of the manual can also be ordered from

Respiratory Diseases Branch
Mailstop C-23
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia 30333 USA
Fax: 1 404 639 3970