Geisinger Medical Laboratories
Microbiology Specimen Collection Instructions

BORDETELLA PERTUSSIS AND BORDETELLA PARAPERTUSSIS

I.    PRINCIPLE

Culture is performed for both B. pertussis and B. parapertussis by the GMC Microbiology Laboratory .

II. SPECIMEN

1. Collection supplies
   1. GMC inpatients or Danville clinic patients
      1. Nasopharyngeal swabs (minitip swabs).
      2. Nasal washing.
      3. ESwab
         
   2. GRL sites, GML clients:
      1. ESwab
      2. Minitip swabs
2. Specimen collection.
   1. Acceptable swabs. The preferred swabs are rayon or dacron minitip swabs.
   2. Required specimen. Two nasopharyngeal swabs (one from each nostril).  Nasopharyngeal suctions or washings (acceptable for GMC inpatients or Danville clinic patients only)  will only be accepted for culture if approved by Dr. Bourbeau (GMC, Microbiology 800-695-6491) or Microbiology supervisor in charge.
      
      NOTE: Nasopharyngeal suctions or washings are not acceptable from GRL or GML client sites.
      
      
   3. Patient collection.
      1. Immobilize the patient's head.
      2. Gently insert one swab into each of the patient's nostrils until it reaches the posterior nares.
      3. Leave the swab in place for a few seconds (the tickling sensation of the swab usually causes a cough). NOTE: If any resistance is encountered in one nostril, collect the specimen from the other nostril only, as some patients may have a deviated septum.
      4. Immediately place both swabs into the appropriate transport medium. Place both swabs in one vial of transport. Cut off the shaft for fit into the tube.  Cap securely.

3. Specimen transport.
   1. GMC inpatients and Danville Clinic. Immediately hand carry the inoculated transport medium to the laboratory after collection. Transport nasal washings to the laboratory at room temperature within two (2) hours of collection.
   2. GRL sites and GML clients. Observe expiration date on medium. Transport to the GMC laboratory within 48 hours at room temperature.

References:

Murray, Patrick, et al. 2007 Manual of Clinical Microbiology, 5th ed., American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C.

Friedman, Richard L. 1988. Pertussis: The disease and new diagnostic methods. Clin Microbiol. Rev. 1:365-376.

Morril WE, Barbaree J, Fields BS, Sanden GN, and Martini WT. 1988. Effect of transport temperature and medium on recovery of Bordetella pertussis from nasopharyngeal swabs. J Clin Microbiol. 26: 1814-1817.

Revised: 1/3/2012