Bacteriology of Tuberculosis: Laboratory Methods

Abstract

Emphasizing the increasing need for more and better clinical bacteriologic methods for diagnosing and monitoring the treatment of tuberculosis, this report describes the results of new methods of collecting, homogenizing, decontaminating, and culturing pathologic materials for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and for "atypical" tubercle bacilli. Also included is a description of a technique for direct drug-susceptibility testing of these organisms. Evidence is presented that only three weeks of incubation on a new type of oleic acid albumin agar medium (7H-10) under 2% CO2 is required for culture of more than 95% of different strains encountered in sputum from tuberculous patients. In a consecutive series of 100 patients admitted to hospital with active pulmonary tuberculosis, bacteriologic confirmation by culture was obtained in every case within one month after admission.