title: Retrieval of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures suspended in phosphate buffered saline.
abstract: One hundred and twenty-seven of 130 isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, suspended in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and stored at ambient conditions in the laboratory for 14days, and another 55 of 60 cultures, suspended as above, transported from reference laboratories within 7days, were successfully retrieved on LJ medium. Considering the maximum retrieval of M. tuberculosis, use of PBS can be explored further for transportation of M. tuberculosis cultures across laboratories.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (ICMR), Chennai, India.
authors.forename: V N Azger
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Dusthackeer
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (ICMR), Chennai, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nagarajan
authors.affiliation: Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR), Bhubaneshwar, India.
authors.forename: Dasarathi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (ICMR), Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Vanaja
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (ICMR), Chennai, India. Electronic address: selvakumar.nagamiah@gmail.com.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Selvakumar
keywords: M. tuberculosis; MDR-TB; Phosphate buffer; Storage; Transportation