title: Evaluation of a macrofoam swab protocol for the recovery of Bacillus anthracis spores from a steel surface.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Mail Stop C16, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. lwh9@cdc.gov
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Hodges
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noble-Wang
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Arduino
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D013232:Steel