Api identification strips

Blood cultures were collected on hospital admission, processed, and resulted on site at the Dhaka Hospital of the icddr,b as part for routine clinical care as described previously [10 (link)]. Blood (1–3 mL) was collected and inoculated into a single pediatric FAN blood culture bottle. Bottles were incubated in the BACT/Alert machine for up to 5 days, and positive culture samples were directly inoculated onto MacConkey (MC), chocolate and blood agar plates. The MC plates were then incubated at 35°C in aerobic conditions. Chocolate and blood agar plates were incubated at 35°C in microaerophilic conditions (containing 5% CO₂). Suspected bacterial colonies were identified using standard bacteriological procedures. API identification strips (bioMérieux, Lyon, France) were used as supportive tests for further identification. Coagulase-negative Staphylococci and Corynebacterium species were considered presumed skin contaminants and were treated as negative cultures in subsequent analyses. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed by using the disk diffusion method, and susceptibility patterns were determined following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines.