Hardy Diagnostics in Santa Maria has released a new culture media product, HardyCHROM Candida, to be used in clinical laboratories in the identification of yeast infections.

Due to an increasing use of antibiotics capable of eliminating bacterial infections, many patients are now finding themselves the victims of yeast infections, said Jay Hardy, president of Hardy Diagnostics.

Many times, when bacteria are killed by antibiotics, an overgrowth of yeast takes over due to the lack of bacterial competition, Hardy explained.

Specimens collected from the patient are transported to a lab, where HardyCHROM Candida, a new formula of culture medium contained in a petri dish, can make it easy for a microbiologist to isolate and identify the yeast species infecting the patient, he said.

The infection is usually from a species of candida, which is becoming a growing concern among physicians, especially in hospitals

The chromogenic substances in the HardyCHROM formula turn the colonies of yeast various colors, making it simple for a laboratory technologist to identify the organism and report back to the physician, who will then prescribe appropriate therapy, Hardy said.

HardyCHROM Candida represents a significant advance in the identification of yeast because of the shorter period of time it takes to complete the identification and the simplicity of the visual observation without having to perform further testing, he said.

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This medium facilitates the recognition of mixed yeast cultures and the identification of Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, C. krusei and C. galabrata.

Hardy Diagnostics plans to market the product to its hospital clients throughout the United States.

The new product is the result of nearly a year of work by two researchers, Rene Clasen and Wendy Phillips.

Clasen, the director of technical services, has a background in public health microbiology, and worked for Santa Barbara County for more than 20 years.

Phillips earned a master's degree in microbiology at Cal Poly and has supervised the quality control lab at Hardy Diagnostics since 2005.

Hardy Diagnostics is an FDA-licensed and ISO-certified manufacturer of medical devices for microbiological procedures in clinical and industrial laboratories.

More than 2,600 microbiology products are manufactured at the company's headquarters in Santa Maria, where it employs 180 workers.

February 9, 2008