IDENTIFICATION OF MYCOBACTERIA

Lab Section Category	Mycobacteriology View write-up
Specimen Required	Referred cultured acid-fast positive isolate from other laboratories
Storage/Transport	Fresh pure culture of isolate on slant in sealed, screw-capped plastic tube. Local laboratories may submit positive MGIT tubes or Myco-F lytic cultures, but these must be packed and labelled properly. All containers should be tightly closed, labeled with identifying lab number and placed in a biohazard-labelled ziplock bag. Pack and transport according to MOH-BATA requirements. Request form (stating name and address of referring laboratory, source of mycobacterial isolate, patient particulars with relevant clinical information, clinician in-charge and requester's contact number) is to be placed in separate sealed plastic bag outside the ziplock bag. The type of test should be specified as Mycobacterial Identification. For regional labs, packaging must conform to IATA standards.
Method	AFB smear, culture, DNA probes, line probe assays and MALDI-TOF.
Test Results	Species identified reported
Turnaround Time	2 - 4 weeks depending on the nature of the organism
Day(s) Test Set up	Monday - Friday
Remarks	Please contact CTBL at tel: 6576 7655/7656 before sending isolate

Change History Notes

Last Updated - 13 Jun 2025