Four flocks of Layer breeders, consist of 28000 (7000 birds each) at 25 weeks of age, hatchery and one day old chicks were subjected to swab sampling in order to isolate Staphylococcus aureus during the period from May till June 2008. Results revealed that more than half of the overall swab samples were positive (52.04%). Different isolation rates were recorded between four flocks, ranging from...

BACKGROUND Leishmania (Viannia) species are the principal cause of mucosal leishmaniasis. The natural history and pathogenesis of mucosal disease are enigmatic. Parasitological evaluation of mucosal tissues has been constrained by the invasiveness of conventional sampling methods. METHODS We evaluated the presence of Leishmania in the mucosa of 26 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis and 2 p...

BACKGROUND Detection of Pneumocystis jiroveci colonization in lungs or oral samples due to high sensitivity of PCR methods results in undue treatment of patients without any symptoms of Pneumocystis pneumonia. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate Pneumocystis carinii in rats, immune suppressed by oral and subcutaneous administration of dexamethasone. MATERIAL/METHODS Blood, oral, na...

Listeria monocytogenes can adhere to different types of food contact surfaces within a food processing environment. Therefore, environmental sampling devices should be capable of detecting unacceptable contamination. In this study, a sponge-stick, foam spatula and an environmental swab were evaluated on their ability to detect low concentrations of L. monocytogenes on different types of food co...

Few studies have assessed viral contamination in the rooms of hospital wards. This cross-sectional study evaluated the air and objects in patient-occupied rooms in pediatric wards for the presence of common respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.Air samplers were placed at a short (60-80 cm) and long (320 cm) distance from the head of the beds of 58 pediatric patients, who were subsequen...

OBJECTIVE To investigate, by use of the Amplicor PCR in a routine setting, the recovery rate of Chlamydia trachomatis in ano-rectal and pharyngeal swab samples obtained from males and females attending an STD clinic in relation to sexual practices, symptoms, and signs. DESIGN Data regarding sexual practices, and symptoms and signs related to the rectum and pharynx, were obtained from 196 fema...

Awidely perceived requirement for validation of all new specimen collection swabs by the laboratory appears to be the result of misinformation. Neither the College of American Pathologists (CAP) nor regulations through the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) address specifically the issue of swab validation for general specimen collection (1–4). While both regulatory agencies requ...

OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy and diagnostic value of four different sample collection techniques for cytological identification of nasal aspergillosis-penicilliosis in dogs. METHODS Fifteen dogs with a history of persistent nasal discharge and clinical and radiographic findings suggestive of aspergillosis were evaluated using four different cytological sampling techniques. These were a ...

Biological samples are vulnerable to degradation from the time they are collected until they are analysed at the laboratory. Biological contaminants, such as bacteria, fungi, and enzymes, as well as environmental factors, such as sunlight, heat, and humidity, can increase the rate of DNA degradation. Currently, DNA samples are normally dried or frozen to limit their degradation prior to their a...