State Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa

Services Provided

The State Hygienic Lab (SHL), formerly known as the University Hygienic Lab (UHL), serves as the main lab for the Iowa TB Control Program. The TB Control Program requests that clinicians who suspect a patient has TB utilize the SHL for rapid identification of M. tuberculosis complex isolates using rapid method such as DNA probe, nucleic acid amplification or HPLC.

Additional Services

• reporting of AFB smear results to health-care providers within 1 day;
• reporting of culture identification of M. tuberculosis complex within 21 days;
• reporting of drug-susceptibility test results within 30 days; and
• reporting of all positive test results to the specimen submitter within 1 working day from the date of report.

Lab results are directly communicated to the Iowa TB Control Program allowing for timely consultation with clinicians and local public health agencies.

Sputum collection and shipping instructions