A mechanised batch screening method for the detection of bacteriuria.

In the modem hospital microbiology department, it is not feasible to investigate fully all routine urine specimens for the detection of bacterial infection of the urinary tract. Although increased numbers of leucocytes in the urine may enable selection of urines for comprehensive culture techniques, including direct antibiotic sensitivity testing, it is totally unacceptable to reject any specimen with a normal leucocyte count without performing a screening culture. An advance in efficient screening, using blotting paper strips, was described by Leigh and Williams' and is now successfully used in many hospital laboratories. The method now described however, involves the mechanical inoculation of 25 urine specimens simultaneously onto an agar surface in a way which reduces both time and materials to a minimum.