Conjunctival swabbing for the isolation of TRIC agent (Chlamydia)

Abstract

In this study, swabbing of the conjunctiva for the collection of specimens for the isolation of chlamydial agents was compared with a standard technique of scraping. Fifty specimens collected by each method were inoculated into cell monolayers using a simplified system of irradiated McCoy cell culture; 37 (74 per cent.) were positive in specimens collected by scraping and 38 (76 per cent.) in specimens collected by swabbing. The number of inclusion bodies detected in cell culture was approximately 4-fold higher from specimens collected by swabbing than from those collected by scraping. The simplicity and speed of collection by swabbing, with freedom from the undesirable sequelae of scraping, should significantly facilitate the use of isolation of TRIC agent in field studies of trachoma, and simplify the work of diagnostic clinics for external diseases of the eye.