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Cited by 1Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility TestingSepsis Diagnosis and TreatmentBiosensors and Analytical Detection

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Low-cost in-house re-formulated brain heart infusion medium for effective planktonic growth and early detection of bloodstream bacterial pathogens

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Hira, Jonathan, Mahbub, Nasib Bin, Ali, Jawad, Ahmad, Rafi·2025·Frontiers in Microbiology
DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1680006PMC PMC12705537

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Abstract

Sepsis, a clinically defined life-threatening condition, is a global contributor to high morbidity and mortality rates in humans. It is caused by systemic bloodstream bacterial infections, primarily involving aerobic pathogens such as Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , and Klebsiella pneumoniae . Rapid and accurate identification of these pathogens is a high-demand task, as prolonged diagnosis may increase the mortality rate among sepsis patients. Globally, commercial blood culture systems like the BD BACTEC™ FX blood culture system, which utilizes BD BACTEC™ PLUS Aerobic/F culture bottles (used in this study), are commonly used to detect aerobic bloodstream infections. However, due to high costs (∼$10.00–$15.00/bottle), limited availability of culture media (especially in low- and middle-income countries, and war zones), and a lack of customization for antibiotic susceptibility assay and epidemiology research, there is a need for secondary alternatives to facilitate the growth and identification of bloodborne pathogens. Therefore, we developed a low-cost (∼$4–$5/bottle) in-house culture medium with a newly improved formulation of Brain Heart Infusion media that enhances bacterial growth from spiked human blood tested on a panel of bacteria ( Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Acinetobacter baumannii , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Enterococcus faecalis ). The growth dynamics of these microbes in in-house formulated BHI-Blood+ culture media coincide with those in BACTEC™ Plus Aerobic/F culture vials, which primarily suggests the compatibility of bloodborne pathogens with this media and can be flagged positive <8 h based on cellular growth rate. Additionally, conventional qPCR-based early detection (<24 h) and validation with the Oxford Nanopore MinION NGS platform highlight the value of this in-house culture media as an alternative to commercial culture media in terms of low-cost availability.

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Metadata

Authors
Hira, J., Mahbub, N. B., Ali, J., & Ahmad, R.
Affiliations
University of Inland Norway (NO)
Corresponding author
Ahmad, Rafi
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Microbiology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2025-12-02
Volume
16
Pages
1680006-1680006
ISSN
1664-302X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fmicb.2025.1680006
PMC
PMC12705537
OpenAlex
W4416896161
Cited by
1
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 1
FWCI
0.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Microbiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Norges Forskningsråd (rcn-foriss-336420)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Microbiology (medical) › Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility Testing
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine › Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Biosensors and Analytical Detection
Keywords
brain heart infusion medium, low-cost culture medium, blood culture, sepsis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Oxford Nanopore MinION, qPCR detection, low- and middle-income countries

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