Specimen Type/Requirements

Specimen of choice: Nasopharyngeal swab. Gently insert Flocked Mini-Nylon tipped swab (Lawson item #6185885) into posterior nasopharynx. Rotate swab slowly for 5 seconds to adsorb secretions, remove swab. Place in M4RT viral transport media (Lawson item #6190081) breaking the swab off at the indicated mark.

Alternative Specimen: Nasal Wash. Tilt patient head back about 70 degrees. Instill 2-3 mL of sterile saline into each nostril. Aspirate saline with bulb syringe or secretion trap and suction device. Place fluid into sterile container and submit to the laboratory. Nasal wash kits are available through the warehouse (Lawson item #6189875).