Throat swab: Vigorously swab tonsillar areas and posterior nasopharynx with a viral culturette. Use tongue blade to depress tongue to prevent contamination of swab with saliva. Place swab into viral transport medium (see Approved Swabs and Media).
Nasal or nasopharyngeal swab: Use sterile swabs to swab the nasal passage or the nasopharynx with either a viral culture swab or culturette. Place swab into viral transport media.
Nasal wash (two techniques): Use a syringe attached to a small plastic tube and 2 mL of viral transport medium. After placing viral transport medium in the nostril, aspirate as much of the material as possible and rinse the tube with the original (2 mL) of viral transport medium. - or - Use sterile swabs to swab the nasopharynx and throat with either a viral culture swab or culturette. Place both swabs in a tube containing 2-3 mL of transport medium. The virus is extremely cell-associated, so attempt to swab the throat and nasal passages to collect epithelial cells. After swabbing, place the swab back in the transport sheath.
Urine specimen: Collect 10-40 mL of urine in a sterile 50 mL centrifuge tube or a urine specimen container. First-morning voided specimens are ideal, but any urine collection is adequate. Have the patient void directly into the container, collection from the first part of the urine stream if possible.