A streptomycin disc technique for screening resistant strains of tubercle bacilli

Abstract

Summary Strains of Myco. tuberculosis from 232 patients were tested in parallel for streptomycin sensitivity by the Dubos tube dilution technique and by a disc diffusion method on Lowenstein-Jensen medium. The results of the two methods were in substantial agreement, but the disc method yielded a rather higher proportion of resistant strains. The disc method, though probably less reliable than the standard tube dilution technique, is easy and rapid and may function as a useful screening test for streptomycin-resistant strains.