A new sterile technique effective on capturing tramp ants for microbiological investigations

Tramp ants are an outstanding group of organisms that have a definitive and important role in carrying pathogens. The purpose of this study was to develop a microbiological sterile technique of collecting ants from contaminated areas. The traps were composed of Petri dishes containing culture media,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neotropical entomology 2009-07, Vol.38 (4), p.560-563
Main Authors: Schuller, Lucia(Univ. São Paulo School of Public Health Dept. of Public Health Practice), Matté, Glavur R(Univ. São Paulo School of Public Health Dept. of Public Health Practice), Matté, Maria H(Univ. São Paulo School of Public Health Dept. of Public Health Practice)
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Ants
Enterobacter
ENTOMOLOGY
Entomology - methods
Escherichia coli
Formicidae
Klebsiella
Microbiological Techniques - methods
microrganismo patogênico
pathogenic microorganism
Public health
Saúde pública
Staphylococcus aureus
Sterilization - methods
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Summary:Tramp ants are an outstanding group of organisms that have a definitive and important role in carrying pathogens. The purpose of this study was to develop a microbiological sterile technique of collecting ants from contaminated areas. The traps were composed of Petri dishes containing culture media, and were tested to verify the applicability of the system. A positive correlation between the microorganism growth and the presence of ants inside or around traps was observed. The technique described demonstrated to be useful to collect ants from different environments, helping the surveillance of pathogenic microorganisms that are of public health concern. Formigas andarilhas são organismos excepcionais, que têm papel definitivo e importante no transporte de patógenos. O objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver uma técnica microbiologicamente estéril para coletar formigas de áreas contaminadas. As armadilhas compostas por uma placa de Petri contendo meio de cultura foram testadas para verificar a aplicabilidade do sistema. Foi observada correlação positiva entre o crescimento de microrganismos e a presença de formigas dentro ou ao redor das armadilhas. A técnica descrita demonstrou ser útil para coletar formigas de diferentes ambientes, além de contribuir na vigilância de microrganismos patogênicos que representam problema para a saúde pública.
ISSN:1519-566X
1678-8052
1678-8052
DOI:10.1590/S1519-566X2009000400023