Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is still a great concern, and recognition of the carrier is essential for appropriate infection control in intensive care units. The utility of wet swab compared to dry swab as an intranasal screening test has not been well assessed yet. A comparative study of the wet and dry swab in its ability to detect the organism was performed against critically ...

Introduction: Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of abdominal pain requiring surgery in children. In most instances the infecting organisms are normal inhabitants of the lumen of appendix. Surgery allows easy microbiological sampling. Aspiration of fluid or pus in a syringe is preferred. Swabs are less suitable and only to be used when sampling with a syringe is not feasible. Antimicro...

BACKGROUND Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma is becoming more common. We examined prevalence and risk factors for oral HPV among men who have sex with men (MSM) and compared sampling and transport methods. METHODS In 2010, 500 MSM (249 HIV-positive) attending Melbourne Sexual Health Centre answered a questionnaire, swabbed their mouth and throat and c...

Endocervical samples were obtained from 435 females for Chlamydia detection by using both a Dacron swab and a cytobrush. Positive results were obtained from 35 swabs and 34 cytobrush specimens. All specimens positive with the cytobrush were detected also with swab samples. The cytobrush and Dacron swab appear to be comparable for the detection of endocervical infections with Chlamydia trachomatis.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) can cause large disruptive epidemics in livestock. Current eradication measures rely on the rapid clinical detection and removal of infected herds. Here, we evaluated the potential for preclinical diagnosis during reactive surveillance to reduce the risk of between-farm transmission. We used data from transmission experiments in cattle where both samples from indivi...

Hands play a critical role in the transmission of microbiota on one's own body, between individuals, and on environmental surfaces. Effectively measuring the composition of the hand microbiome is important to hand hygiene science, which has implications for human health. Hand hygiene products are evaluated using standard culture-based methods, but standard test methods for culture-independent m...

This study assessed the utility of urine, vaginal, cervical, and rectal specimens for the detection of Mycoplasma genitalium in women by using our laboratory-developed PCR assay. The relative sensitivity was 85.7% for the vaginal swab specimen, 74.3% for the endocervical swab specimen, 61.4% for the urine specimen, and 24.3% for the rectal swab specimen.

The main goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of Swiffer wipes in comparison to conventional drag swabs for the recovery of Salmonella. A total of 800 samples (400 Swiffer wipes and 400 drag swabs) were aseptically collected from randomly selected swine barns before disinfection with specific biocides and within 2 h after disinfection. From each barn, 10 samples of each swab type and n...

Preparation • Dissolve 1 heaped teaspoonful of salt or sodium bicarbonate in a jug containing 500 ml of boiled water (half a litre); allow this solution to cool (Figure 1). • Pour a very small amount of the solution into a small sterile pot on a clean surface (Figure 2). Method 1 The eyelashes • Ask the patient to close both eyes. • Take a folded gauze swab or cotton bud. • Moisten the swab or ...

The recovery of upper respiratory tract bacteria on laboratory media from a variety of swabs and swab-transport media kits was examined. Organisms studied included strains of Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae. Although a wide range of results was obtained with regard to variables such as the type of swab or...