Abstract: The invention is a carbohydrate receptor for pathogenic bacteria. The receptor is a purified carbohydrate compound that is a member selected from the group consisting of fucosyl-asialo GM1, asialo GM1, and asialo GM2. The invented receptor can be included in a composition having a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The invention includes methods for purifying, detecting, or removing bacteria from diseased tissue. The applicants have discovered a carbohydrate receptor for a variety of different species of disease-producing bacteria. The structure of the receptor is N-acetylgalactosamine-beta-1-4-galactose-beta-1-4-glucose, abreviated GalNAc.beta.1-4Gal.beta.1-4Glc. The receptor is present in human and animal tissues as complex molecules and can serve as the attachment site for bacterial infection. For example, fucosyl-asialo GM1, asialo GM1, and asialo GM2 are three biological molecules which occur in cell membranes and contain the carbohydrate receptor.