Paper II
2023 July (Supplementary) (2019 Scheme) · 100 marks · 180 min

Question

Satellitism.

Q161 marks

Answer

Satellitism: a phenomenon in which colonies of a fastidious organism, Haemophilus influenzae, grow larger specifically in proximity to colonies of Staphylococcus aureus on blood agar, because S. aureus produces (via beta-haemolysis of red blood cells) factor V (NAD), which H. influenzae requires for growth but cannot synthesize itself — used as a rapid presumptive identification test for H. influenzae on non-enriched (blood) agar, where it would otherwise fail to grow independently (since blood agar lacks free/available factor X and V in a form usable without red cell lysis).

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