Transportation of material for the culture of the gonococcus.

Until the beginning of World War lI the culture method was not extensively used in the diagnosis of gonorrhoea; diagnosis by culture was made only where laboratory facilities were available close to the clinics. The rapidly increasing incidence of gonorrhoea-especially among soldiers-made it desirable to obtain better diagnosis and control of the disease, and it became necessary to provide clinical diagnosis and treatment away from laboratory facilities, so that suitable transportation methods were needed. It was also desirable to diagnose and control chronic gonorrhoea in women more efficiently; microscopical diagnosis was difficult and much stood to be gained if culture methods could be used to a greater extent. The transportation of material to be tested for growth of gonococci has, however, presented greater problems than were encountered with many other pathogenic bacteria. When the laboratories were in close connexion with the clinics, the infected material was inoculated immediately on plates in the clinic and transported as soon as possible to the laboratory, or else swabs were placed in small tubes or bottles (with or without a nutrient medium) and transported to the laboratory, preferably not more than a few hours later. In places without laboratory facilities it was usual to keep the temperature constant during transportation