Specimen Collection
Full clinical details are essential.
This enables the laboratory to select appropriate tests and request additional specimens where necessary to establish the diagnosis. This test can only be requested following consultation with the Clinical Microbiologists or the registrars. We are unable to provide an urgent service and the quality of the specimen is important.
NOTE: TESTS PERFORMED ONLY ON STERILE-SITE CLINICAL SPECIMENS.
CSF
Minimum 1.0 mL, but preferably 5.0 mL or more. Collect into a sterile CSF tube, do not dilute, transport on melting ice.
Body fluid such as pleural fluid
Minimum of 10-20mls collected in a sterile container.
Sterile tissue biopsy or aspirate
Tissues should be kept moist with saline in a sterile container.
Bacterial plates
Only pure culture of bacterial isolate requiring identification or confirmation by 16S rRNA sequencing should be sent. Please make sure that there is enough culture on the plate to work with or indicate on the form about the colony type to enable appropriate processing.
For any other types of specimens please contact the Clinical Microbiologists.
Turnaround Time:
Within 5-7 days.
Negative results are available by Wednesday and positive results by Friday.
Diagnostic Use and Interpretation
16S rRNA (or 16S rDNA), is a ubiquitous gene coding for the bacterial ribosome and has been traditionally used by evolutionary biologist and taxonomist to deduce phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships among bacteria. In clinical microbiology laboratories it has been successfully used to determine species level identification.
Traditional laboratory methods to identify bacteria using phenotypic tests including Gram stain and biochemical tests occasionally fail to identify bacterial pathogens. This molecular based tool of sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene is frequently used to identify such bacteria which are difficult to identify using phenotypic methods.
In addition, this method has been employed to identify bacteria directly from clinical specimens in cases where antibiotics have been administered prior to specimen collection which could prevent the growth of bacteria for further phenotypic testing, where the infection may be caused by non-culturable or slow growing fastidious microorganisms or where clinical specimens were not cultured but histological examination raises the suspicious of an infective process.
Note: The significance of the result from bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing should always be correlated with the clinical picture and discussed with the Clinical Microbiologists.
Contact Information
For further information, contact the Microbiology Department via Lablink or the Clinical Microbiologist:
Lablink contact details
Dr Sally Roberts
, Microbiologist:
ext 22705
Cellphone
021 674 140
Dr Sharmini Muttaiyah
, Microbiologist:
ext 22700
Cellphone
021 615 892
Dr Mary de Almeida
, Microbiologist:
ext 22700
Cellphone
021 170 9117
Dr Matthew Blakiston
, Microbiologist: contact via Lablink
Specimen Transport Instructions for Referring Laboratories
Please send on ice