A swab transport system for anaerobic bacteria (Anatube)

The Anatube is designed to be a practical system for swabs of human material which it is intended subsequently to culture for anaerobes. Basically, it consists of a large tube (A) in which is contained a second tube (B) of much smaller volume. The atmosphere in the large tube consists of nitrogen (90 p. cent) and CO2 (10 p. cent). It is important that each specimen is taken with a swab which can be broken off at a particular place. After the sample has been put into the Anatube, the small amount oxygen thus entering the tube is diluted to a low enough concentration for anaerobic organisms to survive. To evaluate the clinical reliability of the Anatube as compared to the system using Stuarts Transport medium, cervical specimens were taken from one hundred unselected women attending the gynecological clinic.