Abstract
Three commercial blood culture media were compared with a freshly prepared cooked meat medium in tests to stimulate the recovery of small inocula of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria in routine blood cultures. The cooked meat medium gave the most reliable recovery and supported continued viability, whilst Fastidious Anaerobe Broth (LAB M) was a good alternative. Results with Southern Group thioglycollate and Difco Thiol were less satisfactory as delays in recovery and loss of viability occurred on continued incubation with some of the test strains.