This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Olsen, C. C.
Right arrow Articles by Waites, K. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Olsen, C. C.
Right arrow Articles by Waites, K. B.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 1999, p. 3583-3585, Vol. 37, No. 11
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Direct Inoculation and Copan Transport Systems for Isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from Endocervical Specimens

C. C. Olsen,1 J. R. Schwebke,2 W. H. Benjamin Jr.,1 A. Beverly,2 and K. B. Waites1,*

Departments of Pathology1 and Medicine,2 University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama

Received 12 April 1999/Returned for modification 22 June 1999/Accepted 16 August 1999

Two commercial swab transport systems, Copan Amies gel agar with and without charcoal (Copan Diagnostics, Corona, Calif.), were compared to direct inoculation onto modified Thayer-Martin medium for detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 1,490 endocervical specimens obtained from women attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic. Copan swabs were held in the transport system for 24 h at room temperature prior to inoculation onto modified Thayer-Martin medium. All cultures were incubated at 35°C in 5% CO2, and bacteria were identified on the basis of Gram stain, oxidase, and biochemical reactions. Copan Amies gel agar transport system without charcoal detected 77 of 81 (95%) direct inoculation culture-positive specimens, and Copan Amies gel agar transport system with charcoal detected 53 of 56 (95%) directly inoculated culture-positive specimens. Copan Amies gel agar without charcoal inoculated after 6 h supported growth of 56 (98%) positive cultures out of only 55 directly inoculated culture-positive specimens. This study demonstrates that Copan swabs represent a reasonable alternative, providing convenience, low cost, and ease of use while still maintaining a satisfactory recovery rate of N. gonorrhoeae from clinical specimens, if specimens can be inoculated onto selective media within a relatively short time period not involving overnight shipment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pathology, WP230, 618 South 18th St., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233-7331. Phone: (205) 934-6421. Fax: (205) 975-4468. E-mail: waites{at}path.uab.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 1999, p. 3583-3585, Vol. 37, No. 11
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Graver, M. A., Wade, J. J. (2004). Survival of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates of Different Auxotypes in Six Commercial Transport Systems. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 4803-4804 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Osterblad, M., Jarvinen, H., Lonnqvist, K., Huikko, S., Laippala, P., Viljanto, J., Arvilommi, H., Huovinen, P. (2003). Evaluation of a New Cellulose Sponge-Tipped Swab for Microbiological Sampling: a Laboratory and Clinical Investigation. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 1894-1900 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wade, J. J., Graver, M. A. (2003). Survival of Six Auxotypes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Transport Media. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 1720-1721 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Beverly, A. L., Venglarik, M., Cotton, B., Schwebke, J. R. (1999). Viability of Trichomonas vaginalis in Transport Medium. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37: 3749-3750 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»