Notes on the organization of tuberculosis bacteriology and its quality control.

The time-scale of tuberculosis allows the centralization of identification and sensitivity tests on positive cultures with the advantages of better efficiency, economy and safety. The system operated in England and Wales is described with its methods of quality control. The incidence of false resistance in new cases is less than 0-1 per cent and that of missed resistance little more. Arguments are advanced against the use of blind chemotherapy on new patients in Britain.