Evaluation of thin-layer agar 7H11 for the isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex.
We evaluated the thin-layer agar (TLA) method for the recovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and compared the results with the BACTEC Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) 960 system. A total of 53 mycobacterial isolates were isolated on both media. The recovery rates of mycobacteria on TLA and BACTEC MGIT 960 system were respectively 90.6% and 96.2%. Mean time to detection of mycobacteria on TLA was 12.5 compared to 11.2 days on BACTEC MGIT 960. TLA is a simple technique and can be used as an alternative to the Löwenstein-Jensen medium and BACTEC MGIT 960 for the isolation of mycobacteria in resource-poor settings.
Satti
L
L
Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. luqmansatti@hotmail.com
Ikram
A
A
Abbasi
S
S
Malik
N
N
Mirza
I A
IA
Martin
A
A
D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D003470:Culture Media; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010154:Pakistan; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D013997:Time Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology
D003470:Culture Media; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic