Francisella tularensis – 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 |
Francisella tularensis – Confirmation |
Pure viable subculture of organism on Columbia sheep blood agar plate |
N/A |
Columbia sheep blood agar plate |
Submission and Collection Notes
Complete the Reference Bacteriology Requisition for identification and confirmation including:
- test Requested
- culture information (e.g. colonial and gram morphology, catalase and oxidase)
- 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 or 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.
Francisella tularensis 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)
Daily testing (Monday to Friday) at Public Health Ontario’s laboratory is performed using the Canadian Laboratory Response Network (CLRN) PCR assay. Turnaround time for test results is up to 3 days from receipt by PHO’s laboratory.
Isolates that are positive for Fracisella tularensis by the CLRN PCR assay are forwarded to the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) for confirmatory testing. 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.
F. tularensis is confirmed using the CLRN real-time-PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) method at Public Health Ontario’s laboratory.
Algorithm
Any isolate that is positive by the CLRN real-time PCR assay is considered as presumptively positive for Francisella tularensis and is forwarded to the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) for confirmatory testing.
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