Interim Guidelines for Collecting, Handling, and Testing Clinical Specimens from Persons for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): March 25, 2020

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.). Influenza Division.
• Description:
  March 25, 2020
  
  Health care providers should contact their local/state health department immediately to notify them of patients with fever and lower respiratory illness who they suspect may have COVID-19. Local and state public health staff will determine if the patient meets the criteria for testing for COVID-19. The state and local health department will assist clinicians to collect, store, and ship specimens appropriately, including during afterhours or on weekends/holidays. Clinical specimens should be collected for routine testing of respiratory pathogens at either clinical or public health labs. Note that clinical laboratories should NOT attempt viral isolation from specimens collected from persons suspected to have COVID-19 unless this is performed in a BSL3 laboratory. Testing for other pathogens by the provider should be done as part of the initial evaluation but should not delay testing for COVID-19.
  
  Specimen Type and Priority -- General Guidelines -- I. Respiratory Specimens: A. Lower respiratory tract; B. Upper respiratory tract -- II. Storage -- III. Shipping.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Clinical Laboratory Techniques Containment Of Biohazards Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis COVID-19 Safety Specimen Handling
• Series:
  Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Guideline
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Collection(s):
  Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6c612742e5ef7398150469a2ac4a74a5d36f8593361054df3467c1f6829464e4bd012c41270e2ee541bd920aeef391ccd4b5582ff489534daefb931dda7c6853
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/86167/cdc_86167_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 103.37 KB ]