Comparison Between MGIT 960 and Bactec 460 TB system: Culture of Mycobacteria

This study was carried out at the department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The purpose of this study was to find out the recovery rate of mycobacteria on MGIT 960 system and to compare it with the already in use Bactec 460 TB system. The study was carried out on various human clinical specimens submitted in our institute for culture of mycobacteria. All the specimens were processed as per the recommended protocol and inoculated into both MGIT 960 and Bactec 460 TB system. Our results showed that time to detection of mycoacteria on MGIT 960 was earlier as compared to Bactec 460 system while contamination rate on MGIT 960 system was more. In conclusion, the fully automated, rapid MGIT 960 system is better than the semi-automated Bactec 460 TB system and this system has been used as Gold standard in many parts of the world.