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Tests for Agents Beginning with “B”
The Clinical Guide to Services, from Minnesota’s Infectious Disease Laboratory
The Clinical Guide to Services is a comprehensive reference guide of testing services, shipping information, and submission requirements for Minnesota’s Infectious Disease Laboratory.
Even though there are ongoing efforts to keep information current, some information may not be up to date due to recent changes in testing procedures and/or regulation. Many of these tests are only available with prior approval from the Minnesota Department of Health.
If you cannot find what you are looking for in the guide, please Contact the Infectious Disease Laboratory.
Alphabetical by Agent
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | IJK | L | M | N |
O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ
| Test Name | Babesia spp. - Detection, Identification, or Confirmation by Microscopy |
| See: Parasite Examination, Blood; Parasite Identification, Blood | |
| Test Name | Babesia spp. - IgM and IgG Antibody Detection |
| Methodology | Indirect fluorescent antibody |
| Pre-Approval | Contact Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control at 651-201-5414 or 877-676-5414 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | Sent to CDC This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. |
| Specimen | Serum, adults (3 ml) Serum, children (0.5 ml) |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | Not available |
| Test Name | Bacillus anthracis - Detection in Clinical Samples |
| Methodology | Culture, biochemical and molecular testing using Laboratory Response Network protocols. |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 651-201-5073 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact the laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | See: Specimen Requirements for Bacillus anthracis |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | 2-3 days |
| Test Name | Bacillus anthracis - Identification/Confirmation of Referred Isolate |
| Methodology | Biochemical testing and Laboratory Response Network protocols |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 651-201-5073 before sending isolate. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFS, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact the laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | Actively growing pure culture on suitable medium |
| Shipping | Ship at room temperature. |
| Turnaround | Within 1-2 days of specimen receipt. |
| Test Name | Bacillus anthracis - Isolation from Environmental Samples |
| Supplemental Information | Contact local law enforcement and the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control at 651-201-5414 or 877-676-5414 before requesting this test. |
| Turnaround | Not available |
| Test Name | Bacillus cereus - Detection in Stool or Implicated Food |
| Methodology | Culture |
| Pre-Approval | Contact Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control at 651-201-5414 or 877-676-5414 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | Restrictions: Done for investigation of foodborne illness only. |
| Specimen | Stool in ParaPak C&S, Modified Carey-Blair or equivalent - fill to line (approximately 5 ml) Implicated food - minimum of 10 g in original container or transferred to sterile container using sterile instruments. |
| Shipping | Ship stool at room temperature, food at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | Within 4 working days of specimen receipt |
| Test Name | Bacillus cereus - Detection of Diarrheal Type Enterotoxin in Food |
| Methodology | Reversed passive latex agglutination |
| Pre-Approval | Contact Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control at 651-201-5414 or 877-676-5414 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | Restrictions: Done for investigation of foodborne illness only. |
| Specimen | Implicated food - minimum of 10 g in original container or transferred to sterile container using sterile instruments. |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | Within 2 working days of specimen receipt. |
| Test Name | Bacillus cereus - Identification/Confirmation of Referred Isolate |
| Methodology | Biochemical testing, Toxin testing |
| Pre-Approval | Contact Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control at 651-201-5414 or 877-676-5414. |
| Supplemental Information | There is no restriction on confirmation/identification of referred isolate. Toxin testing is performed only for investigation of foodborne illness. |
| Specimen | Actively growing pure culture on suitable medium |
| Shipping | Ship at room temperature. |
| Turnaround | Within 5 working days of specimen receipt. |
| Test Name | Bacteria, Aerobic - Identification |
| Methodology | Biochemical testing, Typing or grouping if appropriate, Sequencing of 16S ribosomal DNA if indicated |
| Pre-Approval | None |
| Supplemental Information | None |
| Specimen | Actively growing pure culture on suitable medium |
| Shipping | Ship at room temperature. |
| Turnaround | Not available. |
| Test Name | Bacterial Identification - Anaerobic |
| See: Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens | |
| Supplemental Information | Anaerobic bacteria other than Clostridium spp. not identified at MDH |
| Test Name | Bacterial Meningitis |
| See: Meningitis, Bacterial; also individual agents | |
| Test Name | Baylisascaris procyonis (Neural Larva Migrans) - Antibody Detection |
| See: Parasite Serology | |
| Test Name | Beta hemolytic streptococcus |
| See: Streptococcus | |
| Test Name | Blastomyces dermatitidis - Antibody Detection |
| See: Fungal Serology | |
| Test Name | BioFire NGDS Warrior Panel - Detection of biothreat agents including Ebola virus RNA, Marburg virus RNA, and Bacillus anthracis DNA in whole blood samples |
| Methodology | qRT-PCR |
| Pre-Approval | Contact Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control at 651-201-5414 or 877-676-5414 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact the laboratory for special instructions FDA Approved IVD |
| Specimen | Two 5ml purple topped plastic EDTA tubes, Whole Blood only |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature Package and ship samples following the Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) 49 CFR 171 - 180, using Category A UN Standard Triple Packaging. Contact MDH for assistance in arranging transport at 651-282-3723 |
| Turnaround | 12 hours |
| Test Name | Blastomyces dermatitidis - Identification/Confirmation of Referred Isolate |
| Methodology | Culture morphology and conversion, Nucleic acid probe |
| Pre-Approval | None |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. |
| Specimen | Actively growing pure culture on suitable medium |
| Shipping | Ship at room temperature, sealed culture system. |
| Turnaround | Probe results within 1 working day of specimen receipt |
| Test Name | Bordetella pertussis Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing |
| See: Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing | |
| Test Name | Bordetella pertussis - Detection in Clinical Samples |
| Methodology | Culture |
| Pre-Approval | None |
| Supplemental Information | This disease is reportable. Isolates must be submitted to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. Cotton and rayon swabs are toxic to B. pertussis |
| Specimen | Nasopharyngeal swab or aspirate Calcium alginate or Dacron swabs are recommended. |
| Shipping | Deliver to the laboratory in < 2 hours or contact laboratory for transport medium recommendations. Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | Negative reports issued after 10 days of incubation |
| Test Name | Bordetella pertussis, parapertussis and holmesii - Detection of DNA in Clinical Samples |
| Methodology | PCR |
| Pre-Approval | Contact Infectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention and Control at 651-201-5414 or 877-676-5414 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease is reportable. Isolates must be submitted to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. |
| Specimen | Isolates Nasopharyngeal swab, dry or in ≤ 2ml transport medium (e.g. Microtest M4) in a sterile tube. Dacron swabs are preferred. Do not use calcium alginate swabs. Nasal wash (0.6 ml) Throat swab, dry or in ≤ 2 ml transport medium (e.g. Microtest M4). Do not use calcium alginate swabs. Specimens must be received within 4 days of collection. |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | Not available |
| Test Name | Bordetella pertussis - Identification/Confirmation of Referred Isolate |
| Methodology | Microscopic morphology, Immunofluorescence, Biochemical testing |
| Pre-Approval | None |
| Supplemental Information | This disease is reportable. Isolates must be submitted to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. |
| Specimen | Actively growing pure culture on suitable medium |
| Shipping | Ship at room temperature. |
| Turnaround | Direct Fluorescent Antibody results available within 1 working day of specimen receipt. Biochemical identification of pure cultures available within 3 working days |
| Test Name | Bordetella pertussis - IgG Antibody Detection |
| Methodology | EIA |
| Pre-Approval | None |
| Supplemental Information | This disease is reportable. Restrictions: Do not request if there is a history of recent vaccination within the last 6 months or if cough onset has been less than 2 weeks. |
| Specimen | At least 0.5 mL serum collected 2 weeks after symptom onset. |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | 7 days |
| Test Name | Bordetella pertussis - Molecular Subtyping |
| See: Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis | |
| Test Name | Botulism/Botulinum toxin |
| See: Clostridium botulinum | |
| Test Name | Brucella spp. - Detection in Clinical Samples |
| Methodology | Culture, biochemical and molecular testing using Laboratory Response Network protocols |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 651-201-5073 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact the laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | See: Specimen Requirements for Brucella spp. |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | 7 to 21 days from the time of sample receipt in the laboratory |
| Test Name | Brucella spp. - Identification/Confirmation of Referred Isolate |
| Methodology | Biochemical and molecular testing using the Laboratory Response Network protocols |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 612-282-3723 before sending isolate. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. B. abortus, melitensis, and suis have been designated as Select Agents (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | Actively growing pure culture on suitable medium |
| Shipping | Ship at room temperature. |
| Turnaround | 10 business days from the time of sample receipt in the laboratory |
| Test Name | Brucella spp. - Antibody Detection |
| Methodology | |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 612-282-3723 before sending isolate. |
| Supplemental Information | Sent to CDC. This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact the laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | Serum (2 ml) |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | Unavailable |
| Test Name | Bubonic plague |
| See: Yersinia pestis | |
| Test Name | Burkholderia mallei - Detection in Clinical Samples |
| Methodology | Culture, biochemical and molecular testing using the Laboratory Response Network protocols |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 651-201-5073 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact the laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | See: Specimen Requirements for Burkholderia spp. |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | 7 to 10 business days from the time of sample receipt in the laboratory |
| Test Name | Burkholderia mallei - Identification/Confirmation of Referred Isolate |
| Methodology | Biochemical and molecular testing using the Laboratory Response Network protocols |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 612-282-3723 before sending isolate. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact the laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | Actively growing culture on suitable medium, See: Specimen Requirements for Burkholderia spp. |
| Shipping | Ship at room temperature. |
| Turnaround | 7 to 10 business days from the time of sample receipt in the laboratory |
| Test Name | Burkholderia pseudomallei - Detection in Clinical Samples |
| Methodology | Culture, molecular and biochemical testing using the Laboratory Response Network protocols |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 612-282-3723 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact the laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | See: Specimen Requirements for Burkholderia spp. |
| Shipping | Ship at refrigeration temperature. |
| Turnaround | 7 to 10 business days from the time of sample receipt in the laboratory |
| Test Name | Burkholderia pseudomallei - Identification/Confirmation of Referred Isolate |
| Methodology | Biochemical and molecular testing using the Laboratory Response Network protocols |
| Pre-Approval | Contact laboratory at 612-282-3723 before requesting this test. |
| Supplemental Information | This disease must be reported to MDH as required by State Rule 4605.7040. This organism has been designated as a Select Agent (Select Agent Regulation, 42 CFR, 73, Final Rule). Special handling criteria apply. Please contact laboratory for special instructions. |
| Specimen | Actively growing culture on suitable medium, See: Specimen Requirements for Burkholderia spp. |
| Shipping | Ship at room temperature. |
| Turnaround | 7 to 10 business days from the time of sample receipt in the laboratory |