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Mycobacteriology

Around the world, tuberculosis is responsible for over one million deaths per year. The recent emergence of multi- and extensively drug resistant strains (MDR and XDR, respectively) represents a threat to public health worldwide, particularly when associated with HIV. 

Other mycobacteria species, referred to as nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), are ubiquitous environmental bacteria that can also cause human disease. The incidence of NTM disease is increasing and in many parts of the United States it exceeds that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, creating a public health concern. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new tools for early detection and identification of these strains.

As the reference laboratory for New York State permitted laboratories, our role is to identify these organisms and in turn improve patient management and care.

The Mycobacteriology Laboratory at Wadsworth Center performs a full range of conventional and molecular testing procedures for rapid and accurate identification and characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the agent of tuberculosis, as well as for non-tuberculous mycobacterium species, including Mycobacterium abscessus.

The Mycobacteriology Laboratory also provides reference and consultation services to permitted laboratories and agencies from other states. Additionally, this laboratory is responsible for defining the minimal laboratory standards in mycobacteriology.

CLIA# 33D2005937 | PFI# 8523

Program Updates

TB Testing

Wadsworth Center’s TB Lab Launches New Testing Algorithm Based Upon Years of Development and Evaluation

Magnitude of Disease Impact

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is a group of closely related and very important pathogens, infecting a quarter of the world’s population; New York State ranks 3rd in the nation for highest number of cases, approximately 800 new...

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Next-generation sequencing

Wadsworth Center Chosen as a Pilot Site for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS)

New York’s Wadsworth Center Laboratory was one of five state public health laboratories selected by the Association of Public Health Laboratories as a pilot site for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).

The Wadsworth Center...

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Corded TB acid fast stained by Ziehl-Neelsen method

Mycobacteriology Laboratory Lends a Hand in New York City Case

Earlier this year, the Wadsworth Center became the first and only state public health laboratory in the nation to perform whole genome sequencing (WGS) of tuberculosis (TB) specimens.

One case illustrates the enormous impact of WGS on TB testing and its central role in rapidly detecting...

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Pallavi Ghosh, Ph.D.

New Wadsworth Researcher Studies Tuberculosis Drug-Resistance

When new risks to public health increase, the Wadsworth Center finds new scientists to address them.

One of the newest is Pallavi Ghosh, Ph.D., who joined the Wadsworth Center as a new researcher in November 2014. Her target: Multi-drug resistant strains of tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Ghosh...

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Dr. Anil Ojha

Dr. Anil Ojha - Turning the Tide on Tuberculosis

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 2 million people are infected and 23,000 people die annually from drug resistant bacteria in the United States alone. Drug resistant tuberculosis in particular is described by CDC as a...

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