5 12 However, no single study has evaluated the use of different swabbing methods using a large population-based sample.
It is also unclear if the use of different swab type for MDR pathogen collection, or the delay in laboratory processing of swabs from Afghanistan, impacted the recovery of pathogens.
The purpose of this analysis was to compare the efficacy of the different swab types for AIV detection.
The difference in the findings between the two assays can be ascribed to numerous factors, including different bacterial loads on the different swabs, the viability of bacteria and the difference in analytical sensitivities of the two assays.
To confirm that any differences in DNA recovery observed were due to the higher drying rate and not differences in the swab materials, an experiment was performed at Eurofins Medigenomix GmbH, Ebersberg, Germany, to compare the influence of the different swab head materials on DNA release.
Despite high diversity, multiple GAS isolates from patients (different colonies from the same swab or different swabs; n = 37) were of the same type for each patient.
Swabs of different samples 690 were generally collected from different sites (wound, burn, blood culture, subaxillary, urine, stool, sputum, throat, ear, skin lesion, high vaginal, and other different swabs).
Although the two study populations were sampled with different swabs and specimens had different transportation/storage times prior to pathogen identification, prior studies (unpublished data by our group) have shown stability of MRSA/MSSA on different swab types at different temperatures and storage times.
Two structurally different swabs are available for microbial sampling in the upper airways: rayon swabs and nylon flocked swabs.
