Possibilities of identification of bacteria by a spreadsheet program

This study presents the application of a commercial spreadsheet software (M S EXCEL 97) modified with tables of Cowan & Steel's Manual for the Identifi cation of Medical Bacteria. The principle of this method is not different f rom the classical way, but searching is much easier, and the user interface of the program allows the possible bacteria to be tested to differentiate among the offered micro-organisms and the necessary additional features to be seen all at the same time. No special programming knowledge is necessary for loading with data and using the program. Each step of identification i s logical and can be controlled by the operator. The program does not give any statistical calculation, so the operator is not influenced by these ass essments and the decision remains in the hands of the specialist.