INTRODUCTION Patients with human immunodeficiency virus carry a significant risk of contracting opportunistic infections. The worldwide increased incidence of tuberculosis has instituted pulmonary tuberculosis as an important diagnostic consideration in patients with human immunodeficiency virus presenting with lower respiratory tract infection. A positive result on the readily-available Ziehl-...

Thirty faecal specimens from 22 patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome were examined by microscopy after Ziehl-Neelsen staining and by culture after decontamination with sodium hydroxide. Thirteen specimens (from 11 patients) were positive for Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare-scrofulaceum on culture, and only five of these on Ziehl-Neelsen staining. Five of the 11 patients had ...

BACKGROUND We evaluated the Ziehl-Neelsen staining (ZNS) technique for the diagnosis of paragonimiasis in Laos and compared different modifications of the ZNS techniques. METHODOLOGY WE APPLIED THE FOLLOWING APPROACH: We (1) examined a paragonimiasis index case's sputum with wet film direct examination (WF) and ZNS; (2) re-examined stored ZNS slides from two provinces; (3) compared prospectiv...

Although inexpensive and easy to perform, the negative staining technique of Heine for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. has been largely neglected. The lack of familiarity with the negative staining technique, the misconception that a phase-contrast microscope is indispensible and inferior results due to Köhler-illumination, are possible explanations for its low popularity. While the modif...

We used a slide culture technique to detect tubercle bacilli surviving in sputum smears (n=46) after conventional heat fixation and Ziehl-Neelsen staining. In all heat-fixed sputum smears, tubercle bacilli survived after time 0 (n=22), 24 h (n=7), 48 h (n=7), 72 h (n=4), and seven days (n=6). None of the stained sputum smears showed growth on slide cultures. Viable tubercle bacilli remaining in...

Fluorescence microscopy for detecting mycobacteria was first used by Hagemann (1) in 1937. Further publications are rare . This method is employed more commonly in smears ( I. 2. 4. 5. K. 12) and rarely in tissue sections (9. 11 ). It gives better results in comparison with the Ziehl-Neel sen stain in both types of material. I n sections of lesions due to leprosy, fluorescence microscopy has no...