April’s Microbiology time is out, and these are the three exciting papers we’ve selected:

• A study on HPV self-sampling comparing FLOQSwabs® to two other vaginal self-collection devices. The researchers tested for high-risk HPV and seven STI pathogens in cervical and vaginal samples, self-collected by 40 women with a documented abnormal Pap smear. Overall, investigated women did not report any discomfort using the different vaginal self-collection devices, and all three vaginal self-collection devices confirmed a similar agreement for HPV detection compared to cervical samples.
• A research paper from Milano Bicocca University evaluating the analytical performance of eNAT® as an alternative to alcohol-based media for the suspension of cervical and vaginal self-samples. By analyzing 30 vaginal self-taken samples with three different RT-PCR HPV assays, the researchers demonstrated the excellent agreement between cervical and vaginal self-collected samples suspended in eNAT® and the alcohol-based media, suggesting that eNAT® could represent a good alternative in self-collection HPV screening programs.
• A Swedish letter to the editor investigating the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on surfaces in a COVID-19 hospital ward. By swabbing with SRK®, the researchers analyzed 75 surfaces made of plastic, painted wood, or metal in 17 patient rooms before ad after terminal cleaning. Eleven of these rooms (69%) had at least one positive surface. Many surfaces (36%) were positive after cleaning, suggesting that standard cleaning may not be sufficient to eradicate SARS-CoV-2 RNA from the environment.

Find the complete studies at the links below: