At various times postonset of rash, 74 patients positive for measles virus-specific immunoglobulin M provided samples for detection of measles virus RNA by a reverse transcriptase PCR. Of lymphocytes, urine, throat swab, and serum specimens, throat swab specimens were optimal for detection of measles virus RNA during the first 2 weeks after the rash.

To determine the utility of oral swabs for diagnosing infection with Ebola virus, we used a guinea pig model and obtained daily antemortem and postmortem swab samples. According to quantitative reverse transcription PCR analysis, the diagnostic value was poor for antemortem swab samples but excellent for postmortem samples.

Two techniques for quantitatively recovering normal-flora microorganisms from the skin of infants were compared. A technique using a swab to dislodge microorganisms from the skin compared favorably to a technique using a rubber policeman. The swab was easier to use and is suitable for use on infant skin.

We describe a comparison of the scrub-wash method of Williamson and Kligman and a swab-wash method for the enumeration of cutaneous microflora. The swab-wash method provides a less traumatic alternative to the scrub-wash method and can be used to sample the cutaneous microflora of premature neonates.

We audited prospectively 322 cough swabs taken from cystic fibrosis children and compared cough swabs with concomitant sputum samples in 30 expectorating patients. A positive cough swab is a strong predictor of sputum culture. However, a negative cough swab does not rule out infection. Persistent symptoms should be further investigated.

Pneumonia due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with poor outcomes and frequently merits empirical antibiotic consideration despite its relatively low incidence. Nasal colonization with MRSA is associated with clinical MRSA infection and can be reliably detected using the nasal swab PCR assay. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the nasal swab MRSA P...

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine microbial contamination of pig carcasses at a slaughterhouse in Vientiane, capital of Lao People Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Between November 2004 and April 2005, 62 pig carcasses were randomly selected. From each carcass, pooled swabs (from "1" prior to and "2" after evisceration) and 25 g of tissue of mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) were coll...

Prescribing systemic antibiotics without susceptibility testing has significant shortcomings, especially in long term care facilities with high rates of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Tissue biopsy or aspiration sampling of infected tissue is the "gold standard" for culture of skin and soft tissue infection and is especially importan...

In this article, we present the genomic DNA yield and the microsatellite and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping success rates of genomic DNA extracted from a large number of mouth swab samples. In total, the median yield and quality was determined in 714 individuals and the success rates in 378,480 genotypings of 915 individuals. The median yield of genomic DNA per mouth swab was 4...

BACKGROUND We assessed the diagnostic value of swab cultures by comparing them with corresponding cultures of percutaneous bone biopsy specimens for patients with diabetic foot osteomyelitis. METHODS The medical charts of patients with foot osteomyelitis who underwent a surgical percutaneous bone biopsy between January 1996 and June 2004 in a single diabetic foot clinic were reviewed. Seventy...