Shipping and Handling Instructions

Ship refrigerated Set up M-F To maintain optimum viability, place swab into V-C-M (equal volumes of fluid/tissue and V-C-M) or equivalent and transport the specimen to the laboratory as soon as possible. Best recovery is obtained when the specimens are refrigerated at 2-8° C or kept on wet ice following collection and while in transit. If there will be a long delay before processing, specimens in V-C-M or equivalent should be frozen at -70° C or colder and transported on dry ice. Storage or transport at -20° C is not acceptable. Raw (unpreserved) samples should only be refrigerated and not frozen. Note: PCR is the preferred test for CSF (preferred specimen: 1 mL CSF submitted in a sterile, leak-proof container without transport media).