A screening technique for the detection of nasal carriers of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus.

The superiority of formol-ether concentration over the well known zinc sulphate flotation method was demonstrated by Ritchie, Pan, and Hunter (1952). In the latter method the heavier ova (Schistosoma, Fasciola) fail to rise to the surface; with formol-ether, a sedimentation technique, all parasites go to the bottom. The increased yield of positive findings with all types of faecal parasites, the relatively clean deposit, and the enhanced visibility of the structural detail of cysts obtained by this method justify its use as a routine diagnostic procedure. Unformed stools need to be examined by direct microscopy also for trophozoites, but formed stools without mucus or blood need only be examined by concentration (Ridley and Hawgood, 1956). We have made many attempts further to improve the efficiency of the method by the addition of wetting or mucolytic agents but none has been a consistent success.