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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2001, p. 1021-1024, Vol. 39, No. 3
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.3.1021-1024.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a Medium (STGG) for Transport and Optimal Recovery of Streptococcus pneumoniae from Nasopharyngeal Secretions Collected during Field Studies

Katherine L. O'Brien,1,2,* Melinda A. Bronsdon,1 Ron Dagan,3,4 Pablo Yagupsky,3,4 Jacob Janco,3,4 John Elliott,1 Cynthia G. Whitney,1 Yong-Hong Yang,5 Lisa-Gaye E. Robinson,6 Benjamin Schwartz,1 and George M. Carlone1

Respiratory Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases,1 and Epidemic Intelligence Service, Epidemiology Program Office,2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Pediatrics, Egleston Children's Hospital, Emory University,6 Atlanta, Georgia; Soroka University Medical Center3 and Faculty of Health Sciences,4 Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel; and Beijing Children's Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China5

Received 10 October 2000/Returned for modification 20 November 2000/Accepted 22 December 2000

Field studies of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococci) nasopharyngeal (NP) colonization are hampered by the need to directly plate specimens in order to ensure isolate viability. A medium containing skim milk, tryptone, glucose, and glycerin (STGG) has been used to transport and store NP material, but its ability to preserve pneumococci has not been evaluated. Our objective was to qualitatively and semiquantitatively evaluate the ability of STGG to preserve pneumococci in NP secretions. Entwined duplicate calcium alginate NP swab samples were obtained from children. One swab was plated directly onto a gentamicin blood agar plate; the other was placed in STGG. Growth from the directly plated specimen was compared with growth from an STGG aliquot immediately cultured or stored at -70°C for 9 weeks, -20°C for 9 weeks, or 4°C for 5 days. Of 186 specimens, 96 (52%) were positive for pneumococci from the direct plating; 94 (98%) of these were positive from the fresh STGG specimen. Pneumococci were recovered from all 38 positive specimens frozen at -70°C, all 18 positive specimens frozen at -20°C, and 18 of 20 positive specimens stored at 4°C. Recovery of pneumococci after storage of NP material in STGG medium at -70°C is at least as good as that from direct plating. Storage at -20°C is also acceptable. Storage at 4°C for 5 days is not ideal.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Center for American Indian and Alaskan Native Health, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, 621 N. Washington St., Baltimore, MD 21205. Phone: (410) 614-3806. Fax: (410) 955-2010. E-mail: klobrien{at}jhsph.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2001, p. 1021-1024, Vol. 39, No. 3
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.3.1021-1024.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.