Specimen Type/Requirements

Sterile Container - Fluids, Tissue, Urine, and Stool

Plates

White top (ESwab in 1mL Liquid Aimes Medium) tube

Organisms screened:

Anthrax - Nasal specimens (Nares Culture) should only be used to support a confirmed exposure to B. anthracis or during an ongoing epidemiologic investigation. Insert swab at least 1 cm inside the nares. (Lesions in the nose require samples from the advancing margin of the lesions.)  Firmly sample the inside of the nares by rotating the swab and leaving it in place for 10-15 seconds. Withdraw the swab, insert it into its transport container, and submit the swab to the laboratory for culture. 

MRSA - If collecting nasal source, use one swab for both right and left nasal passages.

VRE

Actinomyces

Nocardia

Beta Strep - Rectal sources only

Staph aureus - Rectal sources only

Indicate organism to be screened and source on all orders/specimens.