[TB] GLI Mycobateriology laboratory Manual

Purpose
Transmission of tuberculosis, including drug-resistant TB, is a recognized occupational risk for laboratory personnel, as well as a hazard to others who may be exposed to infectious aerosols in the laboratory. Tubercle bacilli may be present in sputum, gastric lavage fluids, cerebrospinal fl uid, urine, and in a variety of tissues. MTB bacilli may survive in heat-fixed smears and may be aerosolized during the processing of specimens and inoculation of culture media. Although clinical specimens from TB cases contain a low infective dose of MTB, all specimens from suspected or known TB cases must be considered potentially infectious and handled with appropriate precautions. Furthermore, MTB cultures and drug susceptibility testing procedures generate high concentrations of organisms that pose an increased risk of aerosol production. Thus, all aforementioned procedures necessitate special biosafety containment and practices.