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Comparative Study
. 2012 Mar;50(3):1064-5.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.06551-11. Epub 2012 Jan 11.

Evaluation of swabs, transport media, and specimen transport conditions for optimal detection of viruses by PCR

Julian Druce  1 , Katherine Garcia, Thomas Tran, Georgina Papadakis, Chris Birch
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Evaluation of swabs, transport media, and specimen transport conditions for optimal detection of viruses by PCR

Julian Druce et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Depletion of swabs and viral transport medium during epidemics may prompt the use of unvalidated alternatives. Swabs collected and transported dry or in saline were compared to commercially available swab/medium combinations for PCR detection of influenza, enterovirus, herpes simplex virus, and adenovirus. Each was detected at an ambient temperature (22°C) and 4°C for 7 days. Detection of influenza on dry or saline swabs is important because of its capacity to cause outbreaks involving large numbers of cases.

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Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Detection of influenza virus RNA by real-time PCR analysis from swabs maintained at (a) 4°C, (b) room temperature (RT), and (c) 37°C for up to 7 days. A CT of 45 indicates a result was not detected for both replicates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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