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This research project, in combination with project B14005, aims to use archived faecal samples to facilitate further work on identifying the causes and burden of infectious intestinal disease.
<p>Initially a pilot study will be undertaken to determine the feasibility of successfully extracting nucleic acid from the archived feacal material and to establish the quality of the nucleic acid that can be obtained.
<p>Pending the results of the pilot study nucleic acid extractions will be done on the remainder of the archived faecal specimens. Samples will be stored in several aliquots and the entire archive will be maintained at -70oC.
One of the outputs of the Study of Infectious Intestinal Disease in England (the IID Study) was an archive of faecal specimens from both the cases and controls that were involved in the study.
<p>When there was sufficient residual faecal specimen remaining after the full range of investigations had been conducted for the study, a 20% suspension of the faeces was made in a cryoprotective broth and stored at -70oC.
<p>In the IID study about 45% of faecal samples from cases with IID in the GP component and 63% of cases in the population cohort, failed to yield a target organism or toxin.
<p>To facilitate further work to identify the causes and burden of illness from IID, particularly in cases where a target organism or toxin was not found an archive of the nucleic acid from the microorganisms in the archived faecal specimens was required.
<p>The archive of nucleic acid generated in this project will be used in a linked project, which aims to use molecular approaches to examine the nucleic acid archive (B14005).
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The final report, "<a href="http://www.foodbase.org.uk/results.php?f_report_id=410" target="_new">Generation of a nucleic acid archive of faecal specimens from cases and controls. Survival of nucleic acid pilot study. Maintenance and administration of the archive.</A>" is available at Foodbase, an open access repository of the <acronym title="Food Standards Agency"> FSA</acronym>.
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.