Heated Blood Agar Medium for the Growth of Trypanosoma cruzi and some Species of Leishmania

Abstract

DIPHASIC media containing defibrinated blood have been extensively used for cultivation of Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. In these media, the protozoan assumes the flagellate form which occurs in the insect vector. For work which requires large amounts of material such as biochemical investigations, media of this kind are not entirely suitable owing to difficulties of preparation and collecting, but also because the suspensions of flagellates contain erythrocytes derived from the blood. In spite of these objections, these media have been used routinely by von Brand et al.^1,2, Chatterjee and Ghosh³, etc.