Evaluation of a macrofoam swab protocol for the recovery of Bacillus anthracis spores from a steel surface.
A protocol to recover Bacillus anthracis spores from a steel surface using macrofoam swabs was evaluated for its accuracy, precision, reproducibility, and limit of detection. Macrofoam swabs recovered 31.7 to 49.1% of spores from 10-cm2 steel surfaces with a < or =32.7% coefficient of variation in sampling precision and reproducibility for inocula of > or =38 spores.
Hodges
L R
LR
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Mail Stop C16, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. lwh9@cdc.gov
Rose
L J
LJ
Peterson
A
A
Noble-Wang
J
J
Arduino
M J
MJ
D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D013232:Steel
D013232:Steel