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Aug 4, 2023Keywords:
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Evaluation of culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on blood agar in resource limited setting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Abstract
Background: Tuberculosis is one of the major public health problems in Ethiopia. A number of rapid techniques for the isolation and identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been approved by World Health Organization. However, the available laboratories, which have financial constraints, require culture media or techniques that are rapid and inexpensive .
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of 7% sheep blood agar medium for primary isolation of tuberculois from pulmonary tuberculosis suspected patients.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 212 tuberculosis suspected individuals from five selected health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from November 2013 to March 2014. Sputum specimens were collected and examined using AFB smear microscopy, cultured on 7% sheep blood agar and Lowenstein Jensen medium. Molecular characterization using RD9 deletion was done for AFB confirmed isolates
Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of 7% sheep blood agar compared with the golden standard of Lowenstein Jensen medium was 96.4%, 98.1%, 94.7% and 98.7%, respectively. The performance of 7% sheep blood agar and sediment smear microscopy was comparable to Lowenstein Jensen. No significant difference in the rate of contamination (p>0.05) where the rate of contamination was 4.7% (20/424) on 7% sheep blood agar tubes and 5.2% (22/424) on Lowenstein Jensen tubes.
Conclusions: Mycobacterial growth time was less on sheep blood agar as compared to Lowenstein Jensen, and 7% sheep blood agar medium may be a good alternative of Lowenstein Jensen medium for rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from sputum in resource limited settings.
