Corynebacterium Diphtheriae Disease
Corynebacterium diphtheriae is a causative agent of diphtheria.It is upper respiratory tract illness and it is a contageous disease.
1. Morphology
- It is a Gram positive, non-motile, non spore forming bacteria.
- Corynebacteria is non- capsulated slender rod.
- It shows club shaped swelling and hence called as Corynebacteria.
- Its size ranges from 3-6 μm in lenght and 0.6-0.8 μm in width.
- These cells posses metachromatic granules.
- Mode of multiplication is by binary fission.
2. Cultural characters
- Corynebacterium can grow easily on ordinary media.
- It growth is enhanced by addition of blood or serum in the media.
- It grows in a temperature range of 15° C-40° C and optimum temperature for its growth is 36° C.
- Neutral pH is optimum for its growth.
- Corynebacteria diphtheriae may be aerobic or facultative anaerobic in nature.
- They are fast growing organism.