Impact of Using Liquid Organic Cleaners as an Alternative of Phenol in Ziehl Neelsen Staining Method

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially fatal contagious disease that can affect almost any part of the body but is mainly an infection of the lungs. It is caused by a bacterial microorganism, the tubercle bacillus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB can be treated, cured, and can be prevented if persons at risk take certain drugs. This study concerned mainly in finding an alternative material to phenol used in traditional Ziehl Neelsen stain for staining acid fast bacilli and excluding it is highly toxicity from the staining solution hence developing safer staining method. Certain selective lipophilic agents, liquid organic detergents,clorax,fairy and alfa were used. Archival Paraffin blocks that suggestive of TB Infection upon diagnosis were reviewed , sectioned and stained . By these methods acid fast bacilli were detected and stained red in blue background. Result obtained compared very favourably with traditional Ziehl Neelsen stain. In addition Detergents are efficient lipophilic agents and safer to handle than phenol. In brief, the methods described here stains acid fast bacilli as efficiently as traditional carbol fuchsin method. Liquid organic cleaners are considerably cheaper.