Bacterial and Fungal Culture

Bacterial cultures are collected from patients if they are found to have infections that were not previously treated successfully by antibiotics. Before performing a bacterial culture, cytologies will be collected to determine what type of infection is likely present. The culture is then used to specifically identify the bacteria species and tell the doctor what antibiotics should be prescribed to treat it. Bacterial cultures can be taken from the ear or the skin, and are collected with a special swab that is sent to a laboratory for testing. In rare cases where infections in the deeper layers of the skin are suspected, skin biopsies may be needed for diagnosis.

Fungal cultures can be collected for two different reasons. One type of fungal culture is used to diagnose ringworm, a surface fungal infection in your pet’s hair and skin. The samples for ringworm cultures are collected using a soft toothbrush and the sample is grown for 3 weeks on a culture plate to obtain a diagnosis. Occasionally, cultures can also be collected for rare fungal infections in the deeper layers of the skin, which may require skin biopsies for diagnosis.