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What are gram negative bacteria?

It is to do with the structure of the cell walls of the bacteria. Gram negative bacteria have an impenetrable cell wall which makes it harder for the immune system to zap them I think
 
It is to do with the structure of the cell walls of the bacteria. Gram negative bacteria have an impenetrable cell wall which makes it harder for the immune system to zap them I think

Ah okay, thank you; so only certain antibiotics will work on them? Vet said we'd need one antibiotic for the skin nodules and a different one for the respiratory system, and she mentioned gram negative but can't remember which was which... :oops:
 
Ah okay, thank you; so only certain antibiotics will work on them? Vet said we'd need one antibiotic for the skin nodules and a different one for the respiratory system, and she mentioned gram negative but can't remember which was which... :oops:

Yes
 
The Gram stain is a basic way of splitting bacteria into 2 groups - Gram positive and Gram negative. It is a very quick, simple method used in the lab, along with other tests. The bugs appear either purple or pink after staining a small amount of culture on a microscope slide. They are examined under the microscope, so other features can also be seen such as shape (dot or dash), flagellae (hairy bits), etc. As there are many, many bacteria, it is useful to eliminate some groups in order to identify the ones you need to. eg E coli are Gram negative rod-shaped bacteria found in the gut, but so are many other bacteria. You would need other tests such as antibiotic sensitivity to help determine the best treatment.

For more info, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_staining
 
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