In August 2005, there was an outbreak of food poisoning in a hotel under the jurisdiction of the Minamikaga Health Center, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The health center’s investigation revealed that there were a total of 10 infected individuals. Two to 12 h (average 7 h) after the dinner that was considered responsible for the food poisoning, the patients developed diarrhea (100%), abdominal pa...

Real-time PCR based on the recN and gyrB genes was developed to detect four Streptococcus bovis/Streptococcus equinus complex (SBEC) subspecies from rectal swab specimens. The overall prevalence was 35.2%: Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus (11.1%), S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus (13%), Streptococcus infantarius subsp. coli (20.4%), and S. infantarius subsp. infantarius (11.1%)...

Eight hundred and twenty-three examinations were carried out on 662 homosexual patients. At each examination a blind anorectal swab and a rectal swab taken via a proctoscope were inoculated on to a culture plate. From a total of 100 gonococcal infections of the rectum 96 gave positive results from blind anorectal swabs and 99 from swabs taken via a proctoscope. Blind anorectal swabs proved to b...

OBJECTIVES We report on a heterosexual male with sore throat diagnosed as oral Trichomoniasis vaginalis. METHODS A rapid strep test and throat culture were negative. An oropharyngeal swab tested positive for Trichomonas vaginalis using a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION A detailed sexual history and oropharyngeal swab testing enabled the diagnosis of oral Trich...

OBJECTIVES To compare endourethral swabs and urine as diagnostic specimens for the detection of genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in male patients attending a genitourinary clinic and to assess whether the first endourethral swab used solely for diagnosing gonococcal infection could be used for C trachomatis detection as well. METHODS Two endou...

BACKGROUND Active and passive surveillance for avian influenza virus (AIV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is widespread in commercial poultry worldwide, therefore optimization of sample collection and transport would be valuable to achieve the best sensitivity and specificity possible, and to develop the most accurate and efficient testing programs. A H7N2 low pathogenicity (LP) AIV strain w...

TO THE EDITOR—We read with interest the recent article by Thibault et al [1], which described laboratory analyses of injection equipment collected from people who inject drugs in France. In particular, the detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in 80% of pooled samples of alcohol and cotton swabs raises concerns about the possible role of swabs in HCV transmission. While the accompanying edit...

Carbapenem resistant Gram negative bacilli (CR-GNB) are an increasing problem worldwide, and rectal swab surveillance is recommended as a component of infection control programs. The performance of an in-house medium (modified CDC protocol) for detecting CR-GNB in surveillance rectal swab was evaluated and compared with a chromogenic medium (ChromID CARBA). 40 rectal swab specimens were taken f...

Infection is the commonest and the most serious problem in patients who survive the shock phase of major thermal injury. It is the most important cause of mortality and morbidity in burn patients. The present paper attempts to study the bacterial profile of burn wounds. One hundred and fifty patients admitted with burn injury were studied. Patients received routine resuscitation and local wound...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as an important pathogen. Successful detection starts with the selection of an appropriate specimen collection device. The Copan ESwab, a new swab, was compared with a commonly used Copan Venturi swab for the recovery of MRSA. In vitro assessment was performed according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M40-A...