Version 1
: Received: 19 July 2020 / Approved: 20 July 2020 / Online: 20 July 2020 (09:38:57 CEST)
How to cite:
Yagupsky, P. Preventing Laboratory-acquired Brucellosis in the Era of MALDI-TOF Technology and Molecular Tests. Preprints2020, 2020070465. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0465.v1
Yagupsky, P. Preventing Laboratory-acquired Brucellosis in the Era of MALDI-TOF Technology and Molecular Tests. Preprints 2020, 2020070465. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0465.v1
Yagupsky, P. Preventing Laboratory-acquired Brucellosis in the Era of MALDI-TOF Technology and Molecular Tests. Preprints2020, 2020070465. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0465.v1
APA Style
Yagupsky, P. (2020). Preventing Laboratory-acquired Brucellosis in the Era of MALDI-TOF Technology and Molecular Tests. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0465.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Yagupsky, P. 2020 "Preventing Laboratory-acquired Brucellosis in the Era of MALDI-TOF Technology and Molecular Tests" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202007.0465.v1
Abstract
Brucellosis is one of the most common etiologies of laboratory-acquired infections worldwide, and handling of living brucellae should be performed in a Class II biological safety cabinet. The low infecting dose, multiple portals of entry to the body, the great variety of potentially contaminated specimens, and the unspecific clinical manifestations of human infections facilitate the unintentional transmission of brucellae to laboratory personnel. Work accidents such as spillage of culture media cause only a small minority of exposures, whereas >80% of events result from unfamiliarity with the phenotypic features of the genus, misidentification of isolates, and unsafe laboratory practices such as aerosolization of bacteria and working on an open bench without protective goggles or gloves. Although the bacteriological diagnosis of brucellae by traditional methods is simple, the Gram stain and the biochemical profile of the organism, as determined by commercial kits, can be misleading, resulting in inadvertent exposure and contagion. The use of novel identification technologies is not hazard-free. The MALDI-TOF technology requires an initial bacterial inactivation step, while the instruments’ reference database may misidentify Brucella as belonging to other Gram-negative species. The rapid identification by the FISH method mistakes brucellar isolates for members of the closely related Ochrobactrum genus.
Biology and Life Sciences, Immunology and Microbiology
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