Comparison of nasopharyngeal nylon flocked swabs with universal transport medium and rayon-bud swabs with a sponge reservoir of viral transport medium in the diagnosis of paediatric influenza

Abstract

This study compared a kit containing a nasopharyngeal nylon flocked swab and a tube with a liquid universal transport medium (UTM) with a kit containing a plastic-shafted rayon-budded swab with a sponge reservoir of viral transport medium for the molecular detection of influenza viruses in children. Respiratory samples were collected from 314 children aged P P <0.0001) of the nasopharyngeal flocked swabs with UTM. These findings show that the flocked swabs with UTM and the rayon-bud swabs with a sponge transport medium are similarly efficient in preserving influenza virus nucleic acid, but that the kit containing a flocked swab with a UTM allows easier and more rapid collection and processing of specimens.