Rapid examination of tubercle bacilli is possible with:

Auramine-rhodamine stains are the fluorescent stains that are used as variation of the traditional ZN stain for demonstration of AFB. In this method, the smears are stained with auramine-rhodamine or auramine-phenol fluorescent dyes and are examined by fluorescent microscope under ultraviolet illumination. This AFB appear as bright fluorescing rods against a dark background. The bacilli, because of their contrast, are visualized even under a high power objective in contrast to oil immersion objective in ZN stain, thus enabling rapid screening of the larger areas of the smear. These fluorescent-stained slides can be screened faster, because the AFB stands against the nonfluorescent background. This is the major advantage of this staining method, hence is adopted in the laboratories where many smears are to be examined for AFB. However, it is always essential to confirm fluorochrome-positive smears by ZN staining. Parija SC. Textbook of Microbiology & Immunology. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2014. Page: 352