Assessing the use of minimally invasive self-sampling at home for long-term monitoring of the microbiota within UK families

Monitoring the presence of commensal and pathogenic respiratory microorganisms is of critical global importance. However, community-based surveillance is difficult because nasopharyngeal swabs are uncomfortable and painful for a wide age range of participants. We designed a methodology for minimally...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 18201
Main Authors:	Nikolaou, E., German, E. L., Howard, A., Nabwera, H. M., Matope, A., Robinson, R., Shiham, F., Liatsikos, K., McNamara, C., Kattera, S., Carter, K., Parry, C. M., Read, J. M., Allen, S. J., Urban, B. C., Hawcutt, D. B., Hill, H., Collins, A. M., Ferreira, D. M.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 24-10-2023 Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	631/326/2565 631/326/421 Children Epidemiology Humanities and Social Sciences Microbiota Microorganisms multidisciplinary Saliva Sampling Science Science (multidisciplinary) Surveillance United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:	Monitoring the presence of commensal and pathogenic respiratory microorganisms is of critical global importance. However, community-based surveillance is difficult because nasopharyngeal swabs are uncomfortable and painful for a wide age range of participants. We designed a methodology for minimally invasive self-sampling at home and assessed its use for longitudinal monitoring of the oral, nasal and hand microbiota of adults and children within families. Healthy families with two adults and up to three children, living in and near Liverpool, United Kingdom, self-collected saliva, nasal lining fluid using synthetic absorptive matrices and hand swabs at home every two weeks for six months. Questionnaires were used to collect demographic and epidemiological data and assess feasibility and acceptability. Participants were invited to take part in an exit interview. Thirty-three families completed the study. Sampling using our approach was acceptable to 25/33 (76%) families, as sampling was fast (76%), easy (76%) and painless (60%). Saliva and hand sampling was acceptable to all participants of any age, whereas nasal sampling was accepted mostly by adults and children older than 5 years. Multi-niche self-sampling at home can be used by adults and children for longitudinal surveillance of respiratory microorganisms, providing key data for design of future studies.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2045-2322 2045-2322
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-023-45574-6