We compared the sensitivity and specificity of a modified Ziehl-Neelsen (modified-ZN) staining method for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) with that of the standard Ziehl-Neelsen (standard-ZN) staining method, using culture results with Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the "gold standard." The sensitivity (72%; 101 of 140) of the modified-ZN staining method, which uses 0.3% carbol fuchsin, was significantl...

Lymph nodes from guinea pigs inoculated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis were fixed in buffered formalin, then treated for the recommended times in Gooding and Stewart's fluid, EDTA, aqueous nitric acid, von Ebner's fluid, and rapid decalcifier (RDC). The blocks were processed to paraffin wax and sections were stained by the Ziehl-Neelsen technique. Only in sections of the blocks treated with RD...

The prevalence of cryptosporidial infection among captive wild animals and birds in Sanda Kyarimi Park, Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria, was evaluated by faecal examination for oocysts using three different staining techniques: the modified Ziehl-Neelsen, Giemsa, and Safranin-methylene blue. A total of 66 captive wild animals and birds were examined based on age and sex differences. Fifteen (2...

The occurrence of a coccidian parasite, Cryptosporidium, among birds in the Kuala Lumpur National Zoo was investigated in this study. A hundred bird fecal samples were taken from various locations of the zoo. Fecal smears prepared using direct smear and formalin ethyl acetate concentration technique were stained with modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain. Samples positive for Cryptosporidium with Ziehl-...

Negative staining technique of Heine is an easy, inexpensive, and rapid way of screening for coccidian parasites of the intestinal tract. But its use as a routine technique for screening of Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, and Cystoisospora is restricted due to its sensitivity being lower than the gold standard method of modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining. This paper emphasises the modification of ori...

The authors studied 66 wild nine-banded armadillos from Brazil. The ear samples were collected and Ziehl-Neelsen or Fite-Faraco stains were performed, as well as immunostaining using polyclonal BCG antibody, to avaluate the presence of the Mycobacterium leprae. The AFB were not detected by the Ziehl-Neelsen or Fite-Faraco staining, neither immunoexpression of the BCG marker. However, many norma...

Modified Ziehl–Neelsen staining for Mycobacterium leprae is a time-tested technique in the evaluation of leprosy. The helps to classify clinical types leprosy into those with low and high bacillary load. It also useful assessing response therapy, identifying defaulters, differentiating relapse from late reversal reactions. In this net educational video, we demonstrate taking an ear lobe smear p...

We analyzed 150 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis from 1990 to 1996 (i) to evaluate the frequency of drug resistance, (ii) to elucidate factors influencing the response to chemotherapy, and (iii) to attempt to improve the therapeutic approach. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis strains were not found. By univariate analysis, there were 8 factors associated with an increased sputum conversion t...

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...