Abstract

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The traditional Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) method used for the staining of acid fast bacilli contains phenol and because of the hazardous nature and inherent danger of phenol, this study was carried out to develop a faster and safer method in our environment that will exclude toxic phenol from the staining solution. “Morning fresh”, a commercial liquid dish washing solution with super grease cutting power and citrus extract distributed by PZ Industry PLC, Nigeria was substituted for phenol in preparing carbol fuchsin. This study was carried out between September 2006 – May 2007 at the Public Health Laboratory, Department of Community Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University and Histopathology Department, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. Departmental slides known to contain acid fast bacilli were stained in duplicates using both the traditional carbol fuchsin and the staining solution containing “Morning fresh” following the standard procedures. The modified and the traditional ZN stained red for acid fast bacilli, nuclei, cytoplasm and cytoplasmic element stained blue on a clear background. The results were compared with departmental control slides for acid fast bacilli stained by traditional ZN method. The liquid dish washing solution “Morning fresh” with super grease cutting power and citrus extract was found to be very efficient because of its affinity for lipids, its ease to handle and safety when compared to phenol. This study method stains acid fast bacilli more efficiently than the traditional carbol fuchsin method using phenol and it is also cheaper and readily available for use in our environment, and in the light of this finding, this may be a more suitable alternative in the detection of acid fast bacilli especially in resource poor and constrained countries where mycobacterial infections are a major public health problem.