Abstract
THE general principle followed so far for the viable count of bacteria in a suspension is either to count the number of colonies produced by a very dilute suspension of bacteria on an agar plate1 or to observe the differential staining behaviour of the living bacterium to distinguish it from the dead one2. No reliable technique has yet been recorded for identifying viable cells in a mixed suspension of viable and non-viable bacteria when counting under the microscope. I have been able to identify living bacteria during the counting process by the hæmatocytometer method.
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References
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GUHA, A. A New Technique for the Viable Count of Bacteria. Nature 179, 1360 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/1791360a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1791360a0
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