1. Specimen Collection

3. Materials for Specimen Collection Viral Transport media in collection tubes Polyester fiber tipped swabs Personal protective equipment Specimen submission forms

4. Materials for Specimen Collection Should be dacron, rayon, or polyester fiber swabs Do not use cotton swabs with wooden sticks or swabs containing calcium alginate; inhibits PCR

5. Visual Resources http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgVZ3p 8OJ0Ahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgVZ3p 8OJ0A http://www.copanusa.com/downloads/educ ation/http://www.copanusa.com/downloads/educ ation/ http://www.copanusa.com/products/utm/an imation.phphttp://www.copanusa.com/products/utm/an imation.php

6. Specimen Handling Swab specimens should be placed in a biohazard bag and placed at 4°C Transport to laboratory as soon as possible Specimens may be stored at 4°C for 2 days; longer storage will require freezing at -70 °C Do not store in standard freezer – keep on ice or in refrigerator Avoid freeze-thaw cycles; better to keep on ice for a week than to have repeat freeze and thaw