Improved rate of isolation of Neisseria meningitidis by direct plating of pharyngeal swabs.
Culturing of pharyngeal swabs for Neisseria meningitidis is an important clinical and epidemiological tool. Routine methods include direct plating onto solid medium or later plating in the laboratory. A comparison of these methods used with 490 high school students found a significantly higher carriage rate with direct plating (11.8 versus 6.1%; P < 0.001).
Cunningham
R
R
Plymouth Public Health Laboratory, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, United Kingdom. richard.cunningham@phnt.swest.nhs.uk
Matthews
R
R
Lewendon
G
G
Harrison
S
S
Stuart
J M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology; D003470:Culture Media; D006801:Humans; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*
D003470:Culture Media