Measles swab (PCR test) – mouth or throat - for diagnosing measles infection

Microbiology

Notes

Sample requirements

Check swab expiry date before use

(Date is in YYMMDD format).

Viral swab of throat or mouth.

A mouth swab should be collected by rubbing the swab along the gum line and then over the tongue.

Required information

• Relevant clinical details.
• Date of onset.
• Details of any exposure to other suspected cases.
• Vaccination history.
• Also essential to know if MMR vaccination has been given very recently.
• For hospital inpatients date of admission and date and time of isolation.

Storage/transport

Store at room temperature.

Transport as soon as possible at ambient temperature.

Turnaround time

This is a reference laboratory test so turnaround time is affected by time to transport the sample from the clinical area to the GRH Microbiology Laboratory and time to transport the sample to the testing laboratory, and the turnaround time of the testing laboratory.

Turnaround time is up to 3 days.

The testing laboratory is Bristol UKHSA Virology Laboratory (Southmead Hospital).