New developments in mycobacteria identification: public health laboratory modernization.

Clinical laboratory mycobacteriology has traditionally involved long delays for results, primarily due to the slow growth rate of most members of the genus Mycobacterium. Several new methodologies are now available that enable dramatic reductions in turn-around times. These methodologies include the Bactec TB System for isolation and drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the use of DNA probes, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the identification of mycobacterial isolates. The spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis has made it imperative that laboratories take advantage of these new methodologies whenever possible. The Mycobacteriology Unit of the Louisiana Office of Public Health's Division of Laboratories has pioneered the use of these methodologies in a public health laboratory setting. Great reductions in turn-around times have been achieved and further reductions are expected as the methods are refined and adapted to the needs of a high-volume public health laboratory.