Recovery of viruses from three transport media incorporated into culturettes

A double-blind prospective study was carried out to compare the rates of recovery of viruses from the upper respiratory tracts of children, using three different transport media. Stuart's, Hanks', and Leibovitz-Emory (LEM) media were packaged in the ampules of Culturettes and labeled in code by the manufacturer. Three swabs (one each from culturettes containing different media) were inserted simultaneously into the oropharynx or pressed onto unroofed dermal lesions, transported to the laboratory, and inoculated into MRC (Medical Research Council)-5 and primary monkey kidney-cell cultures. Eighty isolates were obtained from 200 specimens (40%) collected during all four seasons of the year. Parainfluenza virus, enterovirus, adenovirus, and herpes simplex virus accounted for 79% of the isolates. Of 80 isolates, 72 (90%) were recovered in Hanks', 64 (80%) in Stuart's, and 63 (79%) in LEM. The differences were not significant.