November 1, 2008
Dear Submitter:
Re: EHEC EIA for the detection of Shigatoxin acceptance/rejection criteria
Effective December 1, 2008 the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Laboratory Services Section will be enforcing specimen acceptance/rejection criteria for clinical specimens for the EHEC (E. coli Shiga toxin) test.
Test
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Specimen type
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Time from collection to arrival at the laboratory
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Temperature
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Shipping requirements
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EHEC EIA for the detection of Shigatoxin
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Raw stool
Broth (MacConkey’s broth or GN broth)
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Up to 7 days
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Cold 2° to 8°C
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Ship on cold packs
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Raw stool
Broth (MacConkey’s broth or GN broth)
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Greater than 7 days
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Frozen, -70°C or lower
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Ship overnight on dry ice.
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Cary-Blair Based transport medium
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Up to 3 days
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Cold 2° to 8°C
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Ship on cold packs
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Cary-Blair Based transport medium
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Greater than 3 days
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Frozen, -70°C or lower
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Ship overnight on dry ice.
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Transfer from Raw stool or broth to fresh broth made prior to 7 days
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Up to 7 days from date of transfer.
Transfer must be clearly marked with date of transfer. Submit both the original specimen and the transfer. Note: Toxin expression may be lost over time or upon serial passage.
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Cold 2° to 8°C
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Ship on cold packs
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Any specimens that do not meet these criteria at the date of receipt in our laboratory will be considered unsatisfactory for testing and will be immediately discarded. Although not intended to disrupt vital public health services to our programs and citizens of Texas, these guidelines will ensure the quality of test results and compliance with manufacturers’ specimen acceptance criteria. General submission guidelines can be found on our website: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/lab/MRS_intro.shtm
- Please distribute this letter to all staff responsible for submitting samples
- Please do not ship specimens to the DSHS laboratory on Friday or the day before a federally observed holiday.
If we can be of any assistance to you in interpreting these guidelines, please contact Tamara Baldwin at 1-888-963-7111 ext. 7582. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Susan U. Neill, PhD, MBA
Director, Laboratory Services Section
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