Biological characteristic

• an aerobic bacterium that divides every 16 to 20 hours
• Facultative intracellular pathogens usually infecting mononuclear phagocytes
• has a cell wall but lacks a phospholipid outer membrane
• classified as a Gram-positive bacterium but stains very weakly Gram-positive or does not retain dye due to the high lipid & mycolic acid content of its cell wall
• is a small rod-like bacillus that can withstand weak disinfectants and survive in a dry state for weeks
• can grow only within the cells of a host organism
• classified as an acid-fast bacillus as it retains certain stains after being treated with acidic solution
• common staining technique is the Ziehl-Neelsen stain