Akkermansia is known to cluster in stool, rather than be evenly distributed within a stool sample. No bacteria is necessarily evenly distributed within the stool, but Akkermansia in particular, is known to cluster.
What this means is that it can be difficult to get an accurate reflection of Akkermansia levels from a single sample.
Consequently, it's not uncommon to see large differences between consecutive samples.
As a result of this, we have recently lowered our ideal ranges for Akkermansia to be lower, at a level of 0.02 percent.
If your results have been inconsistent, and does not reflect your recent diet or other factors, it might be worth considering sampling from the stool in a few places next time.
Alternative collection instructions:
Please try to catch the bulk of your stool (use a container or put plastic wrap across toilet bowel).
Insert swab into stool in 10-15 different locations just to coat the swab with stool.
Insert swab into stool directly into stool and pull out at the same angle--do not use a scooping motion.
You do not need to collect a chunk of stool. Follow kit instructions for mixing in vial.