The optimal method for identifying respiratory viruses in adults has not been established. The objective of the study was to compare the sensitivities of three sampling methods for this purpose. One thousand participants (mean age, 63.1 +/- 17.8 years) were included. Of these, 550 were patients hospitalized for acute febrile lower respiratory tract infections and 450 were controls. Oropharyngea...

We evaluated the feasibility and efficiency of using swabs to collect buccal epithelial cells from small (2to 13-g) birds as a source of DNA for genetic studies. We used commercially available buccal swab kits to collect samples from 42 adult and 39 nestling (4to 8-day-old) black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and from 6 4-day-old nestling boreal chickadees (P. hudsonica). We compared...

OBJECTIVE Staphylococcus aureus dominates the skin microbiota in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), with bacterial loads correlating with disease severity. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the effect of a cosmetic lotion containing heat-treated Lactobacillus johnsonii NCC 533 (HT La1) on S. aureus colonization in AD patients. METHODS This open-label, multicenter study w...

Several studies have shown that nasopharyngeal sampling is more sensitive than oropharyngeal sampling for the detection of pneumococcal carriage in children. The data for adults are limited and conflicting. This study was part of a larger study of pneumococcal carriage on the Navajo and White Mountain Apache Reservation following a clinical trial of a seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine...

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.

Vaginal swab specimens may be preferable to cervical swab or urine specimens for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae because of the ease of specimen collection and transport. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether vaginal swab specimens are equivalent to cervical swab specimens for the detection of N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis by the Becton Dickinson...

Cattle are a primary reservoir of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), and contaminated beef products are a source of human infections. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service declared seven EHEC serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157) as adulterants in raw ground beef. Sampling a large number of animals for EHEC surveillance or evaluations of...

BACKGROUND Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus; GBS) is a significant cause of perinatal and neonatal infections worldwide. To detect GBS colonization in pregnant women, the CDC recommends isolation of the bacterium from vaginal and anorectal swab samples by growth in a selective enrichment medium, such as Lim broth (Todd-Hewitt broth supplemented with selective antibiotics), follow...

Aim Wound infection is common in diabetic foot ulcers with potentially life changing sequelae. Targeted treatment of infective organisms requires accurate identification of pathogens to enable refinement of antibiotic protocols to improve outcomes and reduce antibiotic resistance. Wound sampling is routinely conducted using swabs although some guidelines recommend use of tissue samples. To date...