Question

A 11 year old girl is having symptoms of fever and sore throat and to diagnose throat swab was taken. Which bag is used to discard the swab after culture?

• A. Yellow bag
• B. Red bag
• C. Blue bag
• D. White bag

Hint:

Recall the biomedical waste colour-coding system; body fluid-contaminated and microbiology waste goes in one specific colour bag.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Identify the type of waste. A throat swab used for culture is contaminated with body secretions and microbiological material. After processing in the microbiology laboratory, it constitutes infectious biomedical waste.

Step 2: Apply the biomedical waste colour coding system - BMW Rules (India).

- Yellow bag -- Infectious waste: bandages, gauze, cotton or any other objects in contact with body fluids, human body parts, placenta, microbiology laboratory waste (used culture plates, swabs, specimens). This is the correct category.
- Red bag -- Plastic waste: catheters, IV tubes, injection syringes, tubing, IV bottles.
- Blue bag -- All types of glass bottles, broken glass articles, outdated and discarded medicines.
- Black carboy (container) -- Needles without syringes, blades, sharp metal articles.Step 3: Classification of the throat swab. Used microbiology culture swabs contain viable microorganisms and contact with body fluids -- they fall squarely under Category 1: Human Anatomical and Infectious waste and must be discarded in the Yellow bag, then incinerated.

Step 4: Conclusion. Yellow bag is used for discarding the throat swab after culture.