This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ruddy, M. Articles by Gillespie, S. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ruddy, M. Articles by Gillespie, S. H.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2002, p. 4100-4104, Vol. 40, No. 11
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.11.4100-4104.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Estimation of the Rate of Unrecognized Cross-Contamination with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in London Microbiology Laboratories

Department of Medical Microbiology, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London NW3 2PF,¹ School of Biomedical and Life Sciences University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH,² Department of Medical Microbiology, St George's Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE,³ Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre London, London W2 3QR,⁴ Microbiology Department, The Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, London E1 IBB,⁵ Public Health Laboratory Service Mycobacterium Reference Unit, King's College Hospital, East Dulwich Grove, London SE22 8QF, United Kingdom⁶

Received 30 May 2002/ Returned for modification 30 June 2002/ Accepted 25 July 2002

Isolates from patients with confirmed tuberculosis from London were collected over 2.5 years between 1995 and 1997. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed by the international standard technique as part of a multicenter epidemiological study. A total of 2,779 samples representing 2,500 individual patients from 56 laboratories were examined. Analysis of these samples revealed a laboratory cross-contamination rate of between 0.54%, when only presumed cases of cross-contamination were considered, and 0.93%, when presumed and possible cases were counted. Previous studies suggest an extremely wide range of laboratory cross-contamination rates of between 0.1 and 65%. These data indicate that laboratory cross-contamination has not been a common problem in routine practice in the London area, but in several incidents patients did receive full courses of therapy that were probably unnecessary.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Martinez, M., de Viedma, D. G., Alonso, M., Andres, S., Bouza, E., Cabezas, T., Cabeza, I., Reyes, A., Sanchez-Yebra, W., Rodriguez, M., Sanchez, M. I., Rogado, M. C., Fernandez, R., Penafiel, T., Martinez, J., Barroso, P., Lucerna, M. A., Diez, L. F., Gutierrez, C. (2006). Impact of laboratory cross-contamination on molecular epidemiology studies of tuberculosis.. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 2967-2969 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ruddy, M C, Davies, A P, Yates, M D, Yates, S, Balasegaram, S, Drabu, Y, Patel, B, Lozewicz, S, Sen, S, Bahl, M, James, E, Lipman, M, Duckworth, G, Watson, J M, Piper, M, Drobniewski, F A, Maguire, H (2004). Outbreak of isoniazid resistant tuberculosis in north London. Thorax 59: 279-285 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Carroll, N. M., Richardson, M., van Helden, P. D., Gillespie, S. H., McHugh, T. D., de Boer, A. S., van Soolingen, D. (2003). Criteria for Identification of Cross-Contamination of Cultures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Routine Microbiology Laboratories. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 2269-2270 [Full Text]