Kevin,
Hi Kevin,

I have seen a slide of lymph node  from a patient with a severely 
immunocompromised state who has such a superabundance of AFB that the 
section was visibly pink to the naked eye. Needless to say, these sections 
were NOT used as controls for routine work. Interestingly, when PCR typing 
was performed, the bugs turned out to M avis and not MTb as initially 
suspected.

This is completely  anecdotal, but I have heard of various mycobacteriae 
lurking in tap water, that show up on sections washed in that water, causing 
"false positives". Has anyone else anything to offer on this possible urban 
legend?

best regards



Louise Renton
Bone Research Unit
MRC
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel & fax +27 11 717 2298
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana"





----Original Message Follows----
From: "kevin williams" 
To: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: [Histonet] AFB Positive Patient
Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2003 19:50:24 +0000

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