Volume 18, Number 3—March 2012
Dispatch
Culturing Stool Specimens for Campylobacter spp., Pennsylvania, USA
Nkuchia M. M’ikanatha, Lisa A. Dettinger, Amanda Perry, Paul Rogers, Stanley M. Reynolds, and Irving Nachamkin
Table 1
General laboratory practices for 107 Pennsylvania laboratories performing testing of stool specimens, 2009*
| Laboratory practice/method | No. (%) laboratories |
|---|---|
| Routine stool culture includes the following pathogens | |
| Salmonella spp. | 107 (100) |
| Shigella spp. | 107 (100) |
| Campylobacter spp. | 104 (97.2) |
| Aeromonas spp. | 62 (57.9) |
| Plesiomonas spp. | 59 (55.1) |
| Vibrio spp. | 24 (22.2) |
| Yersinia spp. | 38 (35.5) |
| Escherichia coli O157 and STEC stool testing | |
| Routine E. coli O157culture | 44 (41.1) |
| Culture plus Shiga toxin antigen testing | 17 (15.8) |
| Special request E. coli O157 culture | 47 (43.9) |
| Special request Shiga-toxin antigen | 52 (48.6) |
| Special request stool culture for the following pathogens | |
| Aeromonas spp. | 35 (32.7) |
| Plesiomonas spp. | 34 (31.8) |
| Vibrio spp. | 75 (70.0) |
| Yersinia spp. | 65 (60.7) |
| Fecal white cell analysis | 99 (92.5) |
| Transport medium† | 47 (43.9) |
| Medium used | |
| Cary-Blair | 41 (87.0) |
| Not specified | 6 (13.0) |
| No medium used | 59 (55.1) |
| No response | 1 (<1.0) |
| Average time to plating stool specimen after receipt, h | |
| <4 | 81 (75.7) |
| 4–8 | 23 (21.5) |
| >8 | 3 (2.8) |
*STEC, Shiga toxin–producing E. coli.
†Laboratories received specimens in transport media >75% of the time.
Page created: February 16, 2012
Page updated: February 16, 2012
Page reviewed: February 16, 2012
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.