Sampling with virus sampling tubes is generally divided into pharyngeal swab sampling and nasal swab sampling

①, nasal swab sampling: the collector's left hand holds the patient's jaw, measure the distance from the tip of the nose to the earlobe with a swab and mark it with the finger, insert the sampling swab into the nasal cavity in the direction of the vertical nose (face), the swab should reach at least half of the length from the earlobe to the tip of the nose, make the swab stay in the nose for 15-30 seconds, gently rotate it 3-5 times and withdraw the swab. Use another swab to wipe the other side of the heteropore. Immerse the swab head into the sampling solution, squeeze the swab head several times in the sampling solution, forcefully break the tail of the swab and discard the tail of the swab.

②. For pharyngeal swab sampling, press the patient's tongue with the left hand using tongue compression. The right hand holds the swab to wipe the bilateral pharyngeal tonsils and posterior pharyngeal wall, dip the head of the swab into the sampling fluid in the sampling fluid and squeeze the head of the swab several times, forcefully break the tail of the swab and discard the tail of the swab. The nasal and pharyngeal swabs can also be collected in the same - sampling tube.

③. Collect samples with sampling swabs according to sampling needs (preservation solution without swabs, the user can self. Matching swabs are available).

④、Place the sampling swab into the sampling tube after collecting the sample.

⑤. Break the swab at the breakable cut-off point of the sampling swab rod, discard the tail, and cover the tube with the cap

⑥、Label the sampling tube with the information as required.

(7) Specimens should be transported to the corresponding influenza surveillance network laboratory within 2 working days after collection, and stored at a temperature of 2-8°C. If the specimen cannot be delivered to the laboratory within 48H, it should be stored at 70°C or below, and the collected specimen should be delivered to the corresponding network laboratory within 1 week. Repeated freezing and thawing of specimens should be avoided.

It is easy to see from the usage that sampling, whether oropharyngeal swabs or nasopharyngeal swabs, is a technical task, difficult and easy to contaminate. The quality of the collected samples is directly related to the subsequent testing, and if the viral load of the collected samples is low, it is easy to cause false negatives and difficult to confirm the diagnosis.

Currently, the recommended samples for the kits sold in the market are mostly oropharyngeal swabs or nasopharyngeal swabs.