Cotton-Tipped Plastic Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR Diagnosis to Prevent Supply Shortages

Cotton-Tipped Plastic Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR Diagnosis to Prevent Supply Shortages

Byron Freire-Paspuel, Marilyn Cruz, Miguel Angel Garcia-Bereguiain, Alberto Vélez, Patricio Vega-Mariño, Paulina Castillo, Eliana Elizabeth Gomez-Santos

CDC and WHO guidelines for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) diagnosis only recommend synthetic fiber swabs for nasopharyngeal (NP) sampling. We show that cotton-tipped plastic swabs do not inhibit PCR and have equivalent performance to rayon swabs. Cotton-tipped plastic swabs are massively produced worldwide and would prevent swab supply shortages under the current high SARS-CoV-2 testing demands, particularly in developing countries.

2020

Surveillance, Swabs, SARS-CoV-2, cotton swab, rayon swab

DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00356

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Frontiers Media S.A.

Microbiology