To detect Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization, the nasopharynx is sampled using a swab placed in skim milk-tryptone-glucose-glycerol (STGG) transport medium, and then the swab specimen or STGG medium is cultured or subjected to PCR. We evaluated the effect of swab composition and compared the sensitivities of detection of culture and PCR using swabs and swab-containing medium. Calcium alginat...

HIV-1 and HSV-2 are frequent genital co-infections in women. To determine how self-collected genital swabs compare to provider-collected cervicovaginal lavage, paired self-collected genital swabs and cervicovaginal lavage from women co-infected with HIV-1 and HSV-2 were evaluated. Women were in an acyclovir clinical trial and their samples were tested for HIV-1 RNA (361 samples) and HSV-2 DNA (...

The recovery of Clostridium difficile spores from hospital surfaces was assessed using rayon swabs, flocked swabs, and contact plates. The contact plate method was less laborious, achieved higher recovery percentages, and detected spores at lower inocula than swabs. Rayon swabs were the least efficient method. However, further studies are required in health care settings.

Bovine viral diarrhea viruses are economically important pathogens of cattle. Most infections in susceptible animals are acquired from animals persistently infected with the virus. Surveillance programs rely on skin biopsies of persistently infected (PI) cattle to detect the infection. The purpose of this study was to compare antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ACE) testing resul...

Background and Aim: Bacterial contamination of clinical surfaces of dental units that have been touched or been exposed to patients’ blood or saliva can be a reservoir for infections, leading to cross-contamination. This study aimed to evaluate bacterial contamination in the clinical environment of Sari Dental School in 2018. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional (descriptive-analytic...

OBJECTIVE To assess imaging findings at presentation in children diagnosed with influenza A (H1N1) infection. METHODS This is a retrospective observational cohort study conducted at The Children's Hospital affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou, China between September 2009 and March 2010. Nasopharyngeal swabs and bronchial aspirate samples from 81 children with acute respiratory infections...

The emission of microorganisms, especially resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), from poultry farms is of public interest, and its occurrence and relevance are controversially discussed. So far, there are limited data on this issue. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of livestock-associated (LA)-MRSA inside and outside previously tested MRSA-p...

Three swabs were taken from the cervix of each of 104 women for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis. The processing of three swabs instead of one increased the isolation rate by only 2%, and later swabs did not result in the production of more chlamydial inclusions than first swabs. In most clinics, therefore, a single cervical swab is adequate to detect chlamydial infection.

Significantly more epithelial cells were collected by flocked swabs than by rayon swabs in parallel nasopharyngeal and nasal swabs taken from 16 volunteers. Nasopharyngeal sampling of 61 symptomatic patients also yielded more cells by flocked than rayon swabs, providing better clinical specimens for diagnosis.