Survival Of Pneumococci In Three Different Commercial Collection And Transport Systems (Swabs) – Do We Miss Pneumococcal Disease Due To Flaws In Transport Conditions?

Three commercial swab transport systems (SIGMA-TRANSWAB®, eSwab, and deltaSwab) were evaluated for their ability to maintain culturability of Streptococcus pneumoniae under different inoculum loads, storage temperatures, and time intervals up to 48 hours. Marked differences in pneumococcal recovery were observed between systems, particularly at lower inoculum levels and room temperature storage, while refrigeration at 4°C generally improved organism survival across all devices. Extended transport beyond 48 hours resulted in significant loss of viability in some systems, with variability also noted between strains and inoculum types. Overall, the findings highlight that transport system design and storage conditions can substantially influence pneumococcal recovery and may impact downstream diagnostic yield.