Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudomallei – 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 |
Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia psedomallei – Confirmation |
Pure viable subculture of organism on blood or Columbia sheep blood agar plate |
Most appropriate medium is blood or Columbia sheep blood agar plate |
Submission and Collection Notes
Complete all fields of the Reference Bacteriology Requisition, including:
- test(s) requested
- culture information (catalase, oxidase, motility)
- clinical/epidemiology
- contact information
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 or Health Card 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.
B. mallei and B. pseudomallei must be handled in accordance with the Canadian Biosafety Standards and shipped in accordance with the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations.
Test Frequency and Turnaround Time (TAT)
Suspected cultures of B. mallei or B. pseudomallei are forwarded to the National Microbiology Laboratory Monday to Thursday.
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.
B. mallei and B. pseudomallei are confirmed using real-time-PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) method.
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