Retrospective analysis: the research on Mycobacteria in Basilicata from 1977 to 2012

The mycobacterial laboratory was devoted to the search of the Koch bacillus in the pathological materials through the microscopical examination, the examination of the culture, identification and antibiogram. The scientific progress and technical innovation have remarkably improved the mycobacterial diagnostic possibilities and consequently rapid tests of high sensibility and specificity have been developed such as the gene amplification tests used directly on the clinical samples and gene probes for the identification of non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTMs) which have substituted the biochemical tests of uncertain identification.