Survival of gram positive anaerobic cocci on swabs and their isolation from the mouth and vagina.

The survival of Gram positive anaerobic cocci on plain cotton wool and albumin coated swabs held in various transport media was investigated. Results suggested that in most cases Amies', Stuart's and VMGII media do not offer any more protection to the bacteria than storing swabs dry in their containers. A technique was developed for the isolation and identification of Gram positive anaerobic cocci from the mouth and vagina, incorporating bicozamycin in the medium as a selective agent. Few strains were recovered from the oral cavity, but larger numbers were isolated from the vagina. Using a minimum number of antibiotic sensitivity and biochemical tests, including analysis of end products by gas-liquid chromatography, most isolates were identified to species level.