Prospective evaluation of different faecal preservation media for travellers' diarrhoea diagnostic application with multiplex PCR BioFire FilmArray in resource-limited settings

A study limited by sample size found OMNIgene GUT tubes preserved Cryptosporidium DNA better than DNA Shield and FTA cards after year-long ambient storage. qPCR detected DNA in 23/24 OMNIgene, 21/24 DNA Shield, and 17/20 FTA samples, while metagenomics detected it in 13/24, 9/24, and 0/24 samples respectively, guiding decentralised sampling choices.

Detection of <i>Cryptosporidium hominis</i> by clinical metagenomics in stool samples from an outbreak of diarrhoea among British military personnel in Kenya — Halford et al., BMJ military health (paywalled) · source ↗

• stabilised
• dna-genotek-omnigene
• serology
• microbiome
• stool

Processing stool samples with OMNIgene SPUTUM significantly improved the diagnostic yield of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay compared to standard methods, offering a viable alternative for patients who cannot produce sputum.

Diagnostic accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and culture assays to detect Mycobacterium Tuberculosis using OMNIgene-sputum processed stool among adult TB presumptive patients in Uganda — Sessolo et al., PloS one · source ↗

• stabilised
• dna-genotek-omnigene
• serology
• stool
• validation

TB-MBLA testing of OMNIgene-stabilised stool detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis with 80% sensitivity and 79% specificity against sputum culture in 100 adults, offering a viable alternative for patients unable to produce sputum. The RNA-based assay quantified bacterial load, showing higher burdens in HIV-co-infected individuals, while stool cultures suffered 21-26% contamination rates.

High Mycobacterium tuberculosis Bacillary Loads Detected by Tuberculosis Molecular Bacterial Load Assay in Patient Stool: a Potential Alternative for Nonsputum Diagnosis and Treatment Response Monitoring of Tuberculosis — Musisi et al., Microbiology spectrum · source ↗

• stool
• stabilised
• dna-genotek-omnigene
• validation
• serology

The paper identified that the Zymo DNA/RNA shield preservative paired with the QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit extraction yielded more detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA from stool than the OMNIgene-GUT kit or storage without preservative. This supports decentralised diagnostics by establishing a validated method for preserving and analysing self-collected stool samples, enabling reliable detection of viral shedding for epidemiology and patient management.

Standardized preservation, extraction and quantification techniques for detection of fecal SARS-CoV-2 RNA — Natarajan et al., Nature communications · source ↗

• stool
• stabilised
• dna-genotek-omnigene
• validation
• serology

Taxonomic and diversity profiles differed between unstabilised swabs and stabilised OmniGene kits, with transport time disproportionately affecting swab samples; the collection method had a greater impact on taxa and diversity than transport time, highlighting the need for standardised stool collection in decentralised microbiome studies.

Stabilized and unstabilized sampling methods result in differential fecal 16S rRNA microbial sequencing results — Stamper et al., PloS one · source ↗

• stabilised
• dna-genotek-omnigene
• self-collection
• microbiome
• stool