Guidelines for Laboratory Cleaning

The spill response kits in a tuberculosis (TB) lab should be made available to deal with any contaminated or hazardous fluid spillage. Spill response kits should be made available:

• 1 kit placed outside the TB containment laboratory 

• 1 kit placed inside the laboratory

The spill cleanup kit should include the items listed below: 

• Gloves are made for protecting the hands of health professionals from contaminated and infectious surfaces.
• Lab staff must wear gloves for all the procedures that involve direct or accidental contact with infectious material​​.
• Gloves are made for single-use (disposable gloves) and should not be re-used​ (see Figure 1)
• ​Gloves are made from vinyl, latex or nitrile​.
• For the staff who are allergic to latex and when performing PCR, nitrile gloves should be available ​for use.

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Laboratory Gowns (Figure 1)

• Protect the skin and clothing from large droplets of infectious or hazardous materials that may be splattered in the laboratory.
• Gowns must be worn for specimen processing, tuberculosis (TB) culture and drug sensitivity testing (DST).
• The gown must have a solid front and close and tie in the back.
• The gown must have long-sleeves and cuffs.
• For maximum protection, gloves must be pulled over the cuff.

PPE refers to physical barriers which are used alone or in combination to protect an individual's mucous membranes, airways, skin and clothing from contact with infectious agents, hazardous material, conditions or processes.

Common Problems and Troubleshooting Related to Autoclaves in TB Lab

Autoclaves are pretty simple to use but there are a few steps for better maintenance of an autoclave.

A. Daily Maintenance​

The quality control process for autoclaves is important to prevent the transmission of infection.

It is done to ensure that sterilization or decontamination by the autoclave​ is up to the mark.

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To ensure that biohazardous waste is properly decontaminated during autoclaving, the following procedures should be followed by laboratory personnel for quality control during autoclaving:

A. Use of Chemical Indicator

Periodic maintenance of the refrigerated centrifuge is essential to ensure that the centrifuge is in optimum condition.

 Daily Maintenance:

Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) and Relative Centrifugal Force (RCF) are important abbreviations used while using a centrifuge. However, these terminologies differ from each other.

RPM vs. RCF (g force)