Question:
A farmer from Himachal Pradesh presents with a small ulcer on the leg. After a few days he develops a swelling in the inguinal region which later ulcerates. Which stain can be used to detect the bipolar-stained organisms?
A farmer from Himachal Pradesh presents with a small ulcer on the leg. After a few days he develops a swelling in the inguinal region which later ulcerates. Which stain can be used to detect the bipolar-stained organisms?
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Ulcer plus ulcerating bubo equals plague; pick the stain for safety-pin bipolar bacilli.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Albert's stain
- Wayson's stain
- Ziehl-Neelsen staining
- McFadyean's stain
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: The clinical picture is a skin ulcer followed by a tender, suppurating inguinal swelling (bubo) in a farmer, suggesting plague caused by Yersinia pestis, which characteristically shows bipolar (safety-pin) staining.
Step 2: Bipolar staining means the organism takes up stain at both ends with a clear center, giving a closed safety-pin appearance. The stain classically used to demonstrate this in Yersinia pestis is Wayson's stain.
Step 3: Wayson's stain (a mixture of basic fuchsin and methylene blue) stains the bacilli light blue with darker blue bipolar bodies, making the safety-pin morphology easy to see.
Step 4: Albert's stain is used to demonstrate metachromatic granules of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Ziehl-Neelsen stain is for acid-fast organisms such as mycobacteria. McFadyean's stain (polychrome methylene blue) demonstrates the capsule of Bacillus anthracis. None of these is the answer for bipolar staining of plague bacilli.
Conclusion: The printed key marks option B (Wayson's stain), which is medically correct.
Step 2: Bipolar staining means the organism takes up stain at both ends with a clear center, giving a closed safety-pin appearance. The stain classically used to demonstrate this in Yersinia pestis is Wayson's stain.
Step 3: Wayson's stain (a mixture of basic fuchsin and methylene blue) stains the bacilli light blue with darker blue bipolar bodies, making the safety-pin morphology easy to see.
Step 4: Albert's stain is used to demonstrate metachromatic granules of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Ziehl-Neelsen stain is for acid-fast organisms such as mycobacteria. McFadyean's stain (polychrome methylene blue) demonstrates the capsule of Bacillus anthracis. None of these is the answer for bipolar staining of plague bacilli.
Conclusion: The printed key marks option B (Wayson's stain), which is medically correct.
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