Oxoid CO2 Gen atmosphere generation system for growth of capnophilic bacteria: an evaluation

The Oxoid CO2 Gen system is compared with BBL GasPak and a carbon dioxide (CO2) incubator to evaluate its ability to support and enhance the growth of capnophilic bacteria. Clinical samples (n = 109) from various anatomical sites and 23 spiked samples are evaluated. The criteria used to compare the systems include amount of growth, colony size, colony morphology and haemolysis. Isolation rates, amounts of growth and morphology were similar in each system, but colony diameter was significantly larger in the jar-based systems. Significantly larger colonies grew in CO2 Gen than in BBL GasPak. alpha-Haemolytic zones were significantly larger in jar-based systems than in the CO2 incubator, and significantly larger in CO2 Gen than in BBL GasPak. beta-haemolytic zones were significantly larger in CO2 Gen than in the CO2 incubator. The CO2 Gen system appears to be an excellent alternative to established methods for generating an environment for capnophilic incubation.