The El-Comp tampon with Amies medium is a medical device. It is intended for collecting samples from the eyes, ears, breasts, nasopharynx and pharynx, urogenital apparatus, anus and various exudates, which are then subjected to microbiological analysis.

The medical device includes a swab and a test tube containing a transport culture - modified Amies. Thanks to this, the microbiological flora potentially present in the collected sample is preserved during transport. The composition of the medium allows the preservation of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms, even though the survival time of anaerobic microorganisms is necessarily shorter than that of other bacteria. The semi-solid medium is non-nutritive. The salt solution present in it helps to avoid the excessive development of contaminating flora, which allows better isolation of pathogens.

Amies transport environment allows it to survive well at least:

• 48-72 hours streptococci, intestinal pathogens,
• 24 hours Neisseria gonorrhoeae,
• 12-24 hours Heamophilus influenzae, Bordetella pertussis, Gardnerella vaginalis.