Volume 10, Number 6—June 2004
Research
Swab Materials and Bacillus anthracis Spore Recovery from Nonporous Surfaces
Laura Rose*
, Bette Jensen*, Alicia Peterson*, Shailen N. Banerjee*, and Matthew J. Arduino*
, Bette Jensen*, Alicia Peterson*, Shailen N. Banerjee*, and Matthew J. Arduino*Table 1
Percentage of spores recovered from premoistened, directly inoculated, and vortexed swabsa
| Swab material | Mean | Median | SD | Rangeb | 95% CIc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton | 93.9 | 93.1 | 10.1 | 72.5–112.9 | 87.7–100.2 |
| Macrofoam | 93.4 | 96.6 | 10.8 | 73.4–107.7 | 86.6–100.1 |
| Polyester | 83.8 | 81.9 | 7.2 | 73.3–98.2 | 79.4–88.3 |
| Rayon | 91.7 | 92.6 | 6.3 | 79.8–100.7 | 87.8–95.5 |
aN = 10.
bPercentages calculated relative to mean of control tests, allowing maximum to be >100%.
cCI, confidence interval.
