Mannitol salt agar (MSA) only allows the growth of halophile…

Mannitol salt agar (MSA) only allows the growth of halophiles. Among the halophiles, mannitol fermenters release acid that turns the pH indicator yellow; mannitol nonfermenters leave the medium red. Onto MSA you inoculate a halophilic mannitol fermenter and a nonhalophilic mannitol nonfermenter.  You see growth on only one of the plates. Given this scenario, the MSA acts as a _____ medium.

Case Study 2:   An 85-year-old male was admitted to the emer…

Case Study 2:   An 85-year-old male was admitted to the emergency room of a New York City hospital suffering from breathing difficulties and coughing.  He had a high fever, cough, and chest pain. He had presented to his local physician 3 days previously complaining of fever, headache, malaise, and pneumonia-like respiratory symptoms.  A year ago he moved into a large long-term care facility after his wife died and he has been suffering from type two diabetes for the last thirty years.  Sputum was collected for culture and sensitivity.  A sputum gram stain indicated the presence of many white blood cells and pleomorphic gram-negative coccobacilli.  The organism causing the infection did not grow on the traditional media for sputum culture.  An additional urine specimen for antigen testing was then collected and sent to a reference laboratory to confirm the diagnosis. Case Study 2 Question 3:  Which characteristic is not true of the organism identified?