It’s February, and it’s Microbiology Time! For the second month of 2022, we selected three exciting papers:

• A British study evaluating the absorption efficiency and CMV DNA recovery of various commercially available swabs in vaginal fluids and saliva. The study found that the absorption efficiency of swabs varied significantly, with the highest amount of CMV DNA recovered using our FLOQSwabs and eNat. This superior recovery could be extremely helpful to assess CMV shedding in genital and oral secretions during pregnancy.
• A comprehensive review by Antonios, Croxatto, and Culbreath which illustrates the advantages of total laboratory automation and analyzes its main developments during the last years. Moreover, the researchers describe the challenging alterations in the laboratory’s workflow that have to be implemented to optimize automation.
• Starting from an episode of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in their institution, Thoma et al. performed a systematic literature review for MDRO outbreaks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers found that these outbreaks were most often caused by CRAB and C. auris, and that inadequate hygiene adherence, personal protective equipment shortage, and high antibiotic use were the most commonly reported factors contributing to the outbreaks.

Read the complete studies below and see you in March!