Brucella species (B. abortus, B.melitensis, B. suis) – Confirmation
Consistent with O. Reg. 671/92 of the French Language Services Act, laboratory testing information on this page is only available in English because it is scientific or technical in nature and is for use only by qualified health care providers and not by members of the public.
Testing Indications
Submitting laboratories must contact Public Health Ontario laboratory Customer Service Centre by telephone prior to submission of the isolate.
Specimen Requirements
Test Requested | Required Requisition(s) | Specimen Type | Minimum Volume | Collection Kit |
Brucella species (B. abortus, B. melitensis, B.suis) – Confirmation |
Pure viable subculture of organism on Columbia sheep blood agar plate |
N/A |
Columbia sheep blood agar plate |
Submission and Collection Notes
Complete all fields of the General Test Requisition Form, including:
- test(s) requested
- culture information (e.g. colonial and gram morphology, urea test if available)
- clinical/epidemiology
- contact information
Specimens received on either dry or gel-based swabs will not be accepted and will be cancelled.
Storage and Transport
Label the specimen with the patient’s full name, date of collection and one other unique identifier such as the patient’s date of birth, Health Insurance Number, admission/identification or accession number. Failure to provide this information may result in rejection or testing delay.
Special Instructions
Culture must be viable. Use a fresh subculture and ship in conditions to ensure viability on receipt.
Brucella species must be handled in accordance with the Canadian Biosafety Standards and shipped in accordance with the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations. Refer to Brucella spp. (B. abortus, B. canis, B. melitensis, B. suis) - Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) - Canada.ca
Test Frequency and Turnaround Time (TAT)
Testing is performed daily (Monday to Friday) as received at PHO. Turnaround time for test results is up to 3 days from receipt by PHO’s laboratory.Cultures received or identified as suspected Brucella species are tested at PHO using the Canadian Laboratory Response Network (CLRN) PCR assay. Any isolate that is positive by the CLRN assay is considered as presumptive positive for Brucella spp. and is forwarded to the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) for confirmatory testing and species level identification. Turnaround time for test results is up to 3 days from receipt by NML.
STAT and Critical Samples Testing
Urgent testing is available upon request by calling the Customer Service Centre 416-235-6556 or 1-877-604-4567.
Brucella species is identified and confirmed using the Canadian Laboratory Response Network (CLRN) real-time-PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) assay at Public Health Ontario’s laboratory.
Algorithm
All isolates that are positive by the CLRN real-time PCR assay are considered as presumptively positive for Brucella spp. and are forwarded to the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) for confirmatory testing and species level identification.
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