Anaerobic Bacteriology Course

2.5-Day Advanced Anaerobic Laboratory Course

Anaerobe Systems hosts regularly scheduled, hands on, and laboratory-based courses in anaerobic bacteriology and anaerobic chamber operation. Our 2.5 day classes are a mixture of classroom lecture and hands on lab covering a wide range of topics in anaerobic bacteriology. The course is designed to bring people with basic experience in microbiology up to a proficient level in anaerobic growth, isolation, and identification. Extensive microbiology experience is NOT required.

Cost:
Free with the purchase of an anaerobic chamber from Anaerobe Systems
$3,495 for customers who have not purchased an anaerobe chamber from Anaerobe Systems
$1,745 for customers who have previously purchased an anaerobic chamber from Anaerobe Systems and already used their complimentary registration.

Anaerobic Bacteriology Course

The lecture portion of our 2.5 day class covers topics such as oxygen toxicity, specimen collection & transport, culture media selection, techniques for isolation, and fundamental identification methods. In the lab portion, students work in small groups inside our AS-500, AS-580, or AS-150 anaerobic chamber with live anaerobic organisms. Students start with an anaerobic plate streaked with a mixed sample containing 4 unknown anaerobic and facultative organisms. We guide students through picking colonies, streaking, basic staining, and spot biochemicals & potency discs for identification.

Anaerobic Chamber Training

In addition to the anaerobic bacteriology coursework, students get valuable hands on training using gloveless anaerobic chambers. During the lecture we cover the theory and principals of operation of anaerobic chambers and the various key components of anaerobic chambers. In the lab, students will perform basic troubleshooting and maintenance on the anaerobic chamber. Most of the concepts and content can be applied to any anerobic chamber, and this course would be valuable to anyone working with any model of anaerobic chamber.

Upcoming Anaerobic Course Dates & Price

Courses are held Wednesday through Friday, with the course ending at 11:30am on Friday. Attendees flying in from out of state should plan on arriving Tuesday afternoon or evening before the class.

  • May 15-17, 2024
  • July 24-26, 2024
  • September 25-27, 2024

$3,495 course fee includes 3 nights’ hotel accommodations, local transportation to/from airport, most meals, and all course materials including the Wadsworth Anaerobic Bacteriology Manual.

Customers who purchase our AS-500, AS-580, or AS-150 anaerobic chambers may send one person free of charge to the course and receive a 50% discount sending an unlimited number of additional people to any future course.

Who Will Benefit From This Course

This course covers a wide range of topics in anaerobic bacteriology that will be useful to those in clinical diagnostic, microbiome research, veterinary diagnostics, microbiome therapeutics development, and general anaerobic organism research. You do not need to have extensive microbiology or anaerobic experience, and our instructors will guide you through the course activities.

Topics Covered & Course Schedule

Wednesday AM – Lecture: Oxygen toxicity and anaerobiosis, types of anaerobic infections, specimen collection & transport, primary isolation techniques, and preliminary identification techniques. Basic operational concepts for working inside the anaerobic chamber including entering/exiting the chamber, operating the airlock, and incubating samples.

Wednesday PM – Lab: Examine mixed culture samples streaked on various enrichment, selective, and differential culture media. Pick colonies and streak onto secondary plates utilizing spot potency discs for identification. Set up aerotolerance testing and perform basic gram stains.

Thursday AM – Lecture: Identification of anaerobes, presumptive & advanced ID methods, and susceptibility testing. Theory and principals of operation of anaerobic chambers including gas supply, catalytic oxygen removal, humidity control, incubation, and maintaining anaerobic conditions.

Thursday PM – Lab: Simulated workup and identification of unknowns using the Anaerobe Educator web based program. Anaerobic chamber basic/daily maintenance and common problem troubleshooting. Examining plates from previous day and recording results. Perform spot biochemical tests on plates.

Friday AM – Lab/Lecture: Long term anaerobic chamber maintenance including changing sleeves, changing the catalyst, changing cuffs, calibrating the incubator. Laboratory final exam identifying 16 live culture unknowns set up on various culture media plates.

Registration

To register for the course, please inquire on available dates and space in the class. Current AS-580 or AS-150 customers will need to reference their chamber serial number or purchase order number for complimentary or half price registration.

Fees:
$2,995 for general registration
$1,498 for labs which have purchased one of our chambers

Contact:
Sandy Burg – workshop and training coordinator
800-443-3108
customerservice@anaerobesystems.com