Use of Clinical and Laboratory Clue to Diagnose Anaerobic Infections in Limited Resource Setting

Increase in life threatening infection despite the use of antimicrobial among patient’s in limited
resource areas has made it imperative to investigate bacteria causing infections. However,
comprehensive anaerobic bacteriology of clinical specimens is expensive and time consuming
procedure. With advance in diagnostic techniques, the role of anaerobic bacteria in the etiology of
various infection has become increasingly recognized. While a number of infections or intoxication
due to anaerobic bacteria or their toxins arise from exogenous source such as the soil the majority are
often endogenous origin arising frequently from the intestinal tract, oral cavity or the female genital
tract. This chapter therefore highlight pointers for clinical and laboratory clue of anaerobic infection,
additionally practical laboratory procedure to Isolate and identify anaerobes have been explained.