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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
07:35
Demonstrating a Multi-drug Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Amplification Microarray
Published on: April 25, 2014
Rapid detection of laboratory cross-contamination with Mycobacterium tuberculosis using multispacer sequence typing
Zoheira Djelouadji1, Jean Orehek, Michel Drancourt
1Faculté de Médecine, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes, UMR CNRS 6236, IRD 3R198, Université de la Méditerranée, IFR 48, Marseille, France.
BMC Microbiology
|March 5, 2009
Summary
Multispacer sequence typing (MST) quickly identified cross-contamination in Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures. This method confirmed a false-positive tuberculosis diagnosis due to lab mix-up within four days.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genetics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Gold standard tuberculosis diagnosis relies on culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis from clinical specimens.
- Cross-contamination of specimens can lead to false-positive tuberculosis diagnoses.
- Multispacer sequence typing (MST) is a molecular technique for microbial strain identification.
Observation:
- Six Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates cultured within a two-week period in the same laboratory were analyzed.
- A unique and common sequence profile was observed between isolates from a tuberculosis patient and a lung carcinoma patient.
- Epidemiological investigation revealed both isolates were processed on the same day.
Findings:
- Multispacer sequence typing (MST) successfully identified a laboratory cross-contamination event.
- The cross-contamination was demonstrated within four working days.
- MST revealed a shared genetic profile between the two M. tuberculosis isolates.
Implications:
- MST is a rapid and efficient tool for investigating suspected M. tuberculosis cross-contamination.
- Accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis can be improved by implementing robust contamination detection methods.
- Minimizing laboratory cross-contamination is crucial for reliable tuberculosis diagnostics.
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