Culture – Blood

Background

Blood culture is the most efficient way of identifying organisms in the blood. For someone who does not have an infection, blood should always be sterile. The most common organisms identified in the blood are bacteria and fungi, and their presence is called bacteremia and fungemia, respectively. Despite their possible presence in the blood, viruses are not typically identified through traditional blood culture technique because the isolation properties are targeted toward identifying bacteria or fungi. This chapter will mainly discuss bacteremia, as bacteria are the most commonly identified microorganisms.