The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is recommending that healthcare providers and labs get prepared for the onslaught of testing of human patients for bird flu (H5N1). We are, of course, hoping it does not reach the pandemic levels we saw with COVID-19 that took us all by surprise, but having now gone through that, we think we all can agree that our best recourse is to be prepared.
As the risk of human infections increases the CDC is working toward testing solutions and in the meantime, their interim guidance for specimen collection includes nasal, nasopharyngeal, and oropharyngeal swabbing.
The CDC's recommendation is for swabs with a synthetic tip, such as polyester or Dacron® with an aluminum or plastic shaft. There are several of our swabs that meet this criteria, including our patented HydraFlock®and PurFlock Ultra® flocked swabs, our polyester-tipped swabs, as well as our foam-tipped swabs. Available in a variety of tip styles suitable for nasal, nasopharyngeal, as well as oropharyngeal collection.
For transport of samples, the recommendation is to transport the samples to the lab in 1 to 3 mL of viral transport medium. For this, we offer our UniTranz-RT® available in both 1 and 3 mL fills and with or without swabs.
Puritan. We help you know™.
For more information on these particular specimen collection devices, to request samples, or to speak with a swab specialist, please call Puritan at 1.800.321.2313 or fill out the form to the right and we will be in touch.
