The Yield of Sputum Smear Direct Microscopy Using Ziehl-Neelsen Stain in Comparison with Lowenstein Jensen Culture on the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Tripoli-Libya

Abstract

Background: In the developing countries, Tuberculosis is one of leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The detection and identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is considered a great challenge for clinical microbiologists. Albeit Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) smear is being a rapid diagnostic tool for TB, the culture on Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) medium is considered the golden diagnostic tool for TB in the developing countries.