Question

In the Microbiology book, I was reading there was a lot of information regarding the 5 I's. What caught my attention was how advances in molecular techniques are no longer necessary in all cases. My question is, what changed, what are the cases they are no longer necessary for, and what techniques are being used instead of the 5 I's?

Answer 1

Inoculation, Incubation, Isolation, Inspection and Identification are the 5 I's used in culturing micro organisms. This culturing technique is traditionally used to identify certain characteristics of micro-organisms and are time consuming too. Cost effective and quick screening techniques like 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing based on PCR is one example for alternative tests. Causative organisms in Blood stream infections and sepsis can be identified by PNA-FISH (peptide nucleic acid fluorescent in situ hybridization)method . Another rapid blood culture method is Xpert MRSA/SA BC assay which tests MRSA. These newer techniques are easy to execute and generates quick results compared to the traditional method.