Investigation of Laboratory cross-contamination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures.
Many clinicians and laboratory personnel are unaware that a culture positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis may represent contamination. Laboratory cross-contamination with the M. tuberculosis laboratory control strain (H37Ra) occurs infrequently and therefore demands heightened awareness and recognition. We report 3 occurrences of laboratory cross-contamination from the same laboratory. These occurrences illustrate the importance of interpreting laboratory results in conjunction with the patient's clinical presentation. Failure to recognize laboratory cross-contamination with M. tuberculosis leads to both erroneous administration of unnecessary medications and expenditure of resources required to conduct contact investigations.
Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. lfitzpatrick@cdc.gov
L
L
Fitzpatrick
C
C
Braden
W
W
Cronin
J
J
English
E
E
Campbell
S
S
Valway
I
I
Onorato
D000328:Adult; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*