Transportation of clinical samples and long-term recoverability of pathogens are critical to epidemiological studies, particularly when conditions do not permit immediate processing. This study confirms that Cary-Blair medium (CB) is suitable for the preservation of Salmonella and Shigella isolates for more than 2 weeks at 25, 4, or ؊70 C. Campylobacter jejuni was not recovered after 2 days of storage in CB at 25 C when an inoculum of 12 ؋ 10 8 cells per ml was used. Lower temperatures supported the recovery of this organism for 6 days. When individual pathogens were preserved with stools in CB and incubated at 25, 4, or ؊70 C, the Salmonella and Shigella concentrations dropped from 12 ؋ 10 8 cells to 1 ؋ 10 3 or 1 ؋ 10 4 cells per ml within 2 days and then remained stable for the rest of the observation period (15 days). C. jejuni survived preservation with stools for 5 to 9 days. The addition of blood and glycerol to CB improved the recoverability of all enteropathogens, particularly C. jejuni, which was consistently detected for 7 to 9 days at the different preservation temperatures used. When trypticase soy broth-glycerol (freezing medium), with or without blood, was used, there was little or no decrease in the Salmonella and Shigella concentrations during 2 weeks of preservation with stools at ؊70 C. C. jejuni demonstrated a relatively sustained high concentration in Trypticase soy broth-glycerol with 5% blood. The use of defibrinated, laked sheep blood as a long-term freezing medium supported the recovery of low concentrations of Salmonella and Shigella spp. (10 2 to 10 3 cells per ml) for more than 14 weeks. Recovery of C. jejuni was consistent for 7 weeks when an initial concentration of 10 6 cells per ml was present in stools. Laked blood provided a simple, sterile, and inexpensive medium for the preservation of individual isolates and clinical samples.