Covid-19: antigen test self-test swabs must be sterilized?

Covid-19: Antigen Test Self-Test Swabs Must Be Sterilized?

Covid-19 antigen test self-test swabs must be sterilized?

New crown antigen test self-test sampling swabs must be sterilized? Alcohol disinfection is required before “non-sterile sterilization”?

Yesterday, a colleague looked at the record, it was about the swab used for the self-testing agent for the covid-19 antigen.

One user found that the swabs were non-sterile flocked swab during use, while some communities received sterilized cotton swabs.

Therefore, it is recommended to sterilize the flocked swab with 75% alcohol before using it.

Experts and industry insiders say such concerns are unnecessary as long as qualified products from formal channels are used.

If citizens receive swabs that are suspected to be damaged or contaminated, please discard them directly according to relevant requirements.

Is it risky to use “non-sterile” and “unsterilized” sampling swabs?

Sterile flocked swabs specimen collection

Sterile flocked swabs specimen collection

Specifically, there are two main problems that netizens worry about:

First, they are worried that the sampling swabs will be “bacteria”, which will affect the results of antigen testing.

Such as “false positives” And so on;

The second is to worry about the “bacteria” of the sampling flocked swab.

During the sampling process, the “bacteria” will be brought into the human body, affecting health.

75% alcohol can indeed disinfect cotton swabs, but a flocked swab with 75% alcohol may denature the scraped viral proteins!
The antigen is no longer that antigen, so it may lead to missed detection!

You must know that the antigen test “looks” for the antibodies produced by the new coronavirus infected person.

The display window of the reagent strip contains a protein that can recognize the antibody, like a dam, which intercepts the colloidal gold combined with the virus antibody, which is displayed in the display window. is red.

Therefore, even if the sampling swab contains “bacteria”, the kit will “ignore” it and focus on “finding” the antibodies produced by the new coronavirus infected person.

Since the kit is not interfered with by “bacteria”, it will not affect the results of antigen detection.

For some people who think that “bacteria” sampling swabs will affect human health, experts say that this may be due to a lack of understanding of “sterile” products.

Sterile ones are the best.

Ethylene Oxide Covid Test Sterile Swab

Flocked Nasopharyngeal Swab Suppliers and Manufacturers

Flocked Nasopharyngeal Swab Suppliers and Manufacturers

However, the use of sterile flocked swabs is not mandatory, and the use of non-sterile ones will not affect the detection effect.
For the EU CE self-test, it must be equipped with a sterile CE certified swab.
Non-sterile flocked swabs also have requirements for the number of colonies.
Non-sterile swabs are also sold in the EU (probably for professional use).
A group of friends also said: “I would rather not sterilize it. As it is now, if the epoxy desorption time is not enough, it will be sold. It is better not to sterilize it. Anyway, the oral and nasopharynx is not a sterile environment, so what are you afraid of?”
The expert replied: “Swabs are generally sterilized by irradiation, and less sterilized by ethylene oxide (EO). Even if sterilized by EO, they are packaged in dialysis paper. The general standard for ethylene oxide analysis is 14 days. If the heat is accelerated, it will usually be out in 3 days. Counting the storage and logistics time.
It is basically enough for 14 days, and it is safe for the testers.”

In summary:

The European self-test product is equipped with a sterilized swab, which seems to be a product below the European standard.
At the same time, non-sterile swabs can also be used, but they must meet quality inspection standards, such as colony count.
Finally, remind everyone, do not to use alcohol to disinfect swabs, which may cause missed inspections! Of course, the outer package of the reagent can be sterilized if it is conditional!
Flu Test Swab

Flu Test Swab

The COVID-19 pandemic has actually added another layer of complexity to the flu season ahead of schedule. COVID and the flu share many similar signs and symptoms, which certainly makes diagnostic screening even more important this flu season.

What is a flu swab test?

Flu is the abbreviation of Influenza. This disease is not unfamiliar to us. It is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza virus.

Influenza is very contagious and spreads very quickly. Once you have flu symptoms, you must go to the hospital for relevant examinations in time to determine the type of flu before symptomatic treatment.

Every year when the seasons change, the virus will also increase due to changes in temperature. This period is also the time when we are most prone to getting sick.

Among them, influenza is a very common epidemic infectious disease. Influenza is familiar to most people, but not very well known to a few people.

Getting a quick, accurate diagnosis is of course critical to driving treatment decisions.

Influenza testing can be done with blood tests, nasopharyngeal swabs, etc.

How to Test for Flu with a Swab.

How Accurate Is The Nasal Swab

Which Swab Test is More Accurate?

Discovering the right flu test is critical to ensuring accurate results. Using high-quality items—including appropriate swabs, shipping media, and testing devices—can help to properly identify influenza and reduce the potential spread of infection. Influenza testing needs to detect the influenza virus.

After infection with influenza, the influenza virus usually invades the nasopharynx first, which can be detected by a nasopharyngeal swab.

Influenza virus can also enter the blood and can be detected by a blood test. Influenza is a relatively serious respiratory infectious disease.

After the infection, the systemic symptoms are more obvious, such as high fever, general weakness, and sore limbs.

The recovery of the disease is also relatively slow, and it takes about half a month.

Each of the influenza tests listed above can be performed using a nasopharyngeal (NP) swab, throat swab, NP swab, nasal or endotracheal aspirate, or saliva test.

Covid Test Throat Swab

Covid Test Throat Swab

To perform an NP flu swab test, follow these steps:

Choose a flocked swab with excellent absorption and elution, such as CellMedical’s Nasopharyngeal Swab CM-96000N 6″ Sterile Flocked Swab with Breakpoint 90mm.

With the patient’s head tilted back, slowly insert the flocked swab into the nasal cavity.

Place the swab directly into the nostril directly back (not up) and at the level of the nasopharynx to the distance determined on the swab handle.

Rotate the swab approximately 3 to 5 times and hold in place for 5 to 10 seconds to obtain a sample.

Remove the sampling swab and insert into a virus sampling tube containing 1 to 3 ml of virus transport medium.

Break the flocked swab along the breakpoint.

Label the vial with the appropriate customer information.

How long does a flu swab test take?

Throat swab test belongs to a class of medical test methods. A medical sampling swab is used to take a small number of secretions from the pharynx of the human body, inoculate it in a special petri dish, and then put it into a temperature control device for cultivation. Throat swab test can understand the patient’s condition, oral mucosa and throat infection. As for how long the results will take, depending on the number of people tested, some hours, some a day, some a week.

How accurate is the flu swab test?

The flu nasopharyngeal swab test is more accurate when the virus load is sufficient.

This is used to determine whether the human body has the flu.

But if the test comes back positive, that would require sampling and testing of those who came into contact with the patient.

It can prevent the spread of influenza, and it is necessary for suspected patients to be properly isolated, placed separately, and tested.

Nasopharyngeal swabs are commonly used clinically to detect viruses.

That is, take a sampling flocked swab and gently wipe the patient’s nasopharynx, and then take samples for testing.

Ethylene Oxide Covid Test

Ethylene Oxide Covid Test Sterile Swab

EO sterilization refers to ethylene oxide sterilization.

Ethylene oxide (EO) is a highly efficient and broad-spectrum gaseous disinfectant.

It is by far the only most reliable and widely used sterilization method recognized worldwide.

The nasal sampling flocked swabs included in the COVID-19 test kits are sterilized by EO or gamma-ray sterilization.

Rest assured, the swab is safe to use. Including ethane is a gas use commonly used to sterilize different types of medical equipment, flocked swabs for test kits.

The time period for the entire process includes multiple heights and set-up phases, including post-swab removal of sterilized equipment to control ethane treatment.

Allows monitoring of residues in contact with humans (EO amount has been according to ISO 10939-7:2008) ).

Our GMP Factory Flocked Swab Ethylene Oxide Covid Test

Our GMP Factory Flocked Swab Ethylene Oxide Covid Test

Ethylene Oxide Covid Test Sterile flocked Swab Principle

What is the principle of ethylene oxide sterilization (EO sterilization)?

Ethylene oxide, also known as ethylene oxide, has the molecular formula C2H4O.

The boiling point is 10.4°C, it is soluble in water, and the explosion limit in air is 3% to 100% (volume).

Ethylene oxide is a highly volatile, explosive, flammable and toxic substance with ether smell when volatilized. It is a spectral sterilant.

Ethylene oxide can effectively kill various microorganisms, including bacterial propagules, spores, viruses and fungal spores, and is a broad-spectrum high-efficiency sterilant.

Ethylene oxide molecule can produce alkylation reaction with a carboxyl group, amino group, sulfhydryl hydrogen group and hydrogen group on gene proteins necessary for metabolism in bacterial cells.

Instead of the unstable hydrogen atoms on the above groups, form a hydroxyethyl group.

The rooting compound, because this compound destroys the necessary reactive groups in the important metabolic reactions of microorganisms, affects the action of bacterial enzymes, and causes the death of microorganisms.

Nasal swabs included in COVID-19 inspections are EO sterilized.

I heard that ethylene oxide sterilant is toxic and carcinogenic, but covid sterile swaps are all sterilized with ethylene oxide.

Is it safe for us to use a covid swab?

Is the risk of cancer caused by directly entering the respiratory tract greater?

The words “Clean and Sterile EO” on the product packaging of sterile flocked swabs. At this point there’s a crowd that’s saying “

Specimen Collection Swab Ethylene Oxide In Swabs

Specimen Collection Swab Ethylene Oxide In Swabs

It’s completely dry here.

There’s no result. But once you put it in a person’s nose, it’s wet. Once you inhale it, it’s going to kill us. It’s really killing people.”

While it’s safe to say that direct exposure to ethylene oxide is actually linked to cancer (here), that doesn’t suggest that swabs sterilized with ethylene oxide definitely cause cancer cells.

Ethylene oxide is a valuable disinfecting gas because it is very good at inactivating bacteria.

It is used in factories in a very tightly controlled method to ensure that people working in manufacturing plants are not put at risk.

It is a common chemical used to sterilize clinical tools and leave a minimal amount of product behind.

In conclusion, EO is a gas commonly used to sterilize clinical equipment such as COVID-19 nasal swab tests.

Ethylene oxide (ethylene oxide) is a highly efficient and broad-spectrum gaseous disinfectant.

It is by far the only most reliable and widely used sterilization method recognized worldwide.

Although EO is carcinogenic, the use of this gas is safely regulated and has actually been used for decades.

Sterilization procedures are regulated to ensure minimal EO residues on medical tools.

Covid 19 Rapid Test Kit

Covid 19 Rapid Test Kit

The ribonucleic acid of the new coronavirus is RNA, and the detection of the ribonucleic acid of the virus is the detection of RNA.

Moreover, nucleic acid testing is an important means to confirm whether the new coronavirus is infected.

At present, nucleic acid detection of the new coronavirus mainly uses RT-PCR nucleic acid detection kits.

Simply put, the inspectors will use nucleic acid extraction kits to extract nucleic acids from patient specimens and put the extracted nucleic acids into nucleic acid detection reagents for replication.

If the test result is negative, it means that the patient may not be infected with the new coronavirus. If the test is positive, it means that the patient is infected with the virus.

The Cell medical COVID-19 Antigen Self-Test (At Home Kit) provides quick results in the convenience of your home. An easy COVID-19 infection detection solution, this 15-minute test can be done anytime, anywhere. Detect multiple variants.

Cell medical  Covid 19 Rapid Test Kit home test

Cell medical  Covid 19 Rapid Test Kit home test

For consecutive (repeated) tests, simply test yourself twice within 3 days, at least 24 hours apart (and no more than 48 hours apart). A single test is available if you have symptoms.

Please read the full instructions included in the box carefully before starting the test.

This self-test kit is suitable for asymptomatic people, and the nose and throat are swabs to determine whether they are infected.
Asymptomatic infection refers to people who carry the virus but have no symptoms.

If you test negative for COVID-19
Most likely you were not infected when you were tested. However, a negative result does not guarantee
You do not have COVID-19.

Covid 19 Rapid Test Kit, including extraction tube holder, sealed packaged test strips, extraction buffer bags, extraction tubes, garbage bags, sealed packaged flocked swabs, and instructions;

How do I use the Covid Rapid Test Kit home self-test kit?

  • Open the package and take out the test card.
  • Using the Flocked swab from the kit, insert the entire soft tip of the swab into the nostril.
  • Rub the inside of the nostril with a cotton swab. Make at least 5 large circles. Don’t just spin the swab.
  • Using the same swab, repeat steps 1 and 2 in the other nostril. Each nostril must be wiped for about 15 seconds.
  • Install the stirrer on the extraction tube, drop two drops into the sample hole of the test card, and start the timer.
  • After performing the test, be sure to wait at least 15 minutes for your results to be available.
  • Test again in three days (with at least 36 hours between tests).

Rapid Antigen Test Kits for COVID-19 Learn more

Nylon Flocked Swabs

Nylon Flocked Swabs

During an outbreak, everyone should be familiar with sampling swabs. When doing nucleic acid, touching the nose and throat is directly touching the sampling site of human organs, that is, directly touching our human organs. Therefore, the material of the sampling head will affect our comfort and is closely related to the subsequent detection.

Sampling swabs should be polyester, nylon and other non-cotton, non-calcium alginate swabs, and the handle should be non-wood. The breakpoint is located about 3cm from the top of the swab head, which is easy to break.

NASAL FLOCKED SWAB

NASAL FLOCKED SWAB

Moreover, the experimental analysis shows that the extraction efficiency of nylon flocked swabs is the highest. In contrast, the recovery efficiency of nylon flocking swabs is also higher than that of other material swabs.

Nylon fibre flocking technology. The front end is coated with vertically fixed nylon short fibers, so that the entire sampling area of ​​the sampling swab has no absorption holes, and the sampling sample will not be scattered in the fibers, which is conducive to faster and more efficient sampling!

Compared with traditional winding swabs, nylon flocking swabs collect and release 3 times the number of samples, do not damage cell samples, ensure the survival rate of cell samples, do not leave fatty acids, do not affect the test and detection results, not to mention Said to cause harm to the human body.

What materials cannot be used for sampling swabs?

As we all know, the materials of medical swabs have always attracted much attention. After all, medical swabs come into direct contact with the skin. People who touch the skin can first touch alcohol for disinfection, that’s fine, but what about those who have direct contact with organs? For example, the throat swab we are most familiar with during the epidemic.

The throat swab is in direct contact with the sampling site, and the material of the sampling head is closely related to subsequent testing. The sampling swab head should be made of nylon flocked swabs or rayon, and calcium alginate sponges or wooden stick swabs (including bamboo sticks) should not be used.

Cotton products should not be used for the swab head, because the cotton fiber has strong adsorption to protein and is not easy to clean into the subsequent storage solution; wooden.

What are the types of swab tests?

There are two different types of COVID tests – Swab tests and antibody tests.

1. Swab tests can show if you have an active coronavirus infection and should take steps to isolate or isolate yourself from others. There are currently two types of diagnostic tests – molecular (RT-PCR) tests that detect the genetic material of the virus, and antigenic tests that detect specific proteins on the surface of the virus. Samples are usually collected with a nasal or throat swab, or saliva spits into a test tube.

2. Antibody tests look for antibodies that the immune system produces in response to a threat, such as a specific virus. Antibodies can help fight infection. Antibodies can take days or weeks to develop after infection and may remain in the blood for several weeks after recovery.

Therefore, antibody tests should not be used to diagnose active coronavirus infection.

Right now, researchers don’t know whether the presence of antibodies means you’ll be immune to the coronavirus in the future. While there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding this new virus, the widespread availability of antibody testing and clinical follow-up over time also has the potential to provide the medical community with more information about whether and how long a person has recovered from the virus of people have a reduced risk of infection if they are re-exposed to the virus. Learn more about antibody testing.

Nasal Swabs for Sample Collection

Nasal Swabs for Sample Collection

Nasal Swabs for Sample Collection

I believe many people are very curious.

There is already a throat swab.

Why do you have to do a Nasal swab?

In the actual anti epidemic work scene, in fact, medical staff have a set of scientific judgment basis for collecting oropharyngeal swabs or nasopharyngeal swabs.

Because the nose swab only needs to expose the nose during the sampling process, the probability of exposure to the virus environment is low.

For high-risk people, such as asymptomatic infected persons, entry personnel or suspected people being isolated.

Nucleic acid detection with nasal swabs can reduce the infection risk of collectors, and the psychological acceptance of samplers.

That is, medical personnel, is also higher.

For the nucleic acid detection and screening carried out in the community, due to the more emphasis on rapid screening, the use of oropharyngeal swabs is more convenient and fast.

If discomfort or slight bleeding occurs during the collection of nasopharyngeal swabs, it is generally not treated.

After a period of time, the discomfort will disappear automatically.

If it is really uncomfortable, it can be properly cleaned with normal saline.

But do not wash too much, too much cleaning may bring more pollution.

Why is flocking swab used in nasal swab PCR test?

In order to improve the swab collection efficiency and meet the needs of end consumers for high-quality products.

Cell medical’s Flocked swab came into being.

Innovative jet implanted nylon fiber technology to maximize the sampling efficiency of the sampling swab.

The nylon fiber is vertically and evenly attached to the surface of the swab head, greatly increasing the collection and release efficiency of cell and virus samples.

Improve the analysis sensitivity, no sample residue, speed up the sample processing process, and the unique breakable design of ABS plastic rod.

It is applicable to the collection of cervical, nasopharynx, oral throat, forensic samples, virus, DNA and other samples.

◆ upright nylon fiber is like a soft brush, which can collect more specimens.

The capillary action between nylon fibers enhances the load of aqueous samples, and the samples are concentrated on the surface of the swab, which is easier to elute.

◆ it has outstanding sample collection and release ability, can quickly adsorb micro samples, and has high release aging rate. The increase of the number of target cells is helpful to improve the sensitivity of rapid diagnostic test.

◆ flocked swab has obvious advantages in nasopharyngeal sampling and microbial sampling, especially in the collection effect of virus and DNA.

◆ 100000 class purified environment, strict production process conditions, and production under ISO13485 quality control and product CE requirements. No DNase and RNase, no endotoxin, no cell inhibitor.

 

 

Sterile Sampling Swab |Precautions for producing sterile sampling swabs

Sterile Sampling Swab |Precautions for producing sterile sampling swabs

Sterile Sampling Swab |Precautions for producing sterile sampling swabs

Disposable sterile sampling medical swab, referred to as sterile swab.

Usually, sterile swabs have a collection material on the stem or at the top of the stem, which can be natural or synthetic. Such as polyester, flocking, etc.

The sterile swab material produced and sold by cell medical (Dongguan) Co., Ltd. is flocking.

The proprietary flocked process optimizes collection and elution, and the breakpoint forming handle can better help break, which is in line with ergonomic design.

Usually, the user holds the stem and wipes the collected material on the surface to collect the sample.

Swabs are sterile to maintain the integrity of the sample.

Usually, there is a resealable sterile container or bag to preserve the integrity during processing and transportation to the laboratory.

Including Covid-19 sampling, sterile workers, food producers and crime scene investigators.

For virus collect samples.

The material, size and shape of the sterile swab head may be different, such as round or pointed.

Some users need to collect products aseptically.

They collect samples from people, animals, even plants and other organisms, while others collect samples from inert surfaces, including furniture such as crime scenes and food processing tables.

Many times, The type of sample required determines the type of sterile swab selected by the user.

Sterile swabs may contain sterile water, which is the only acceptable water for laboratory studies.

Sterile swab manufacturers provide dry and wet swabs.

Usually, they pack sterile swabs in sterile packaging, such as paper, plastic or plastic coated paper covers.

Many manufacturers provide packages that are gamma irradiated and sealed to protect the integrity of swabs.

Some swabs are tubular and may contain liquids such as sterile water, sterile saline, or sodium chloride.

The user should check with the laboratory preparing to process the sample to know what type of swab or solution to use. For many applications, maintaining sample integrity is as important as using sterile swabs.

Many places use sterile swabs to monitor the environment or work area, control infection and its transmission, and monitor health management plans.

These include hospitals and medical institutions, food and drug processing facilities, and animal care facilities, such as veterinary clinics and zoos.

Materials for nasopharyngeal sampling swabs – manufacture

During the sampling process of the COVID-19, the pharyngeal swab is in direct contact with the sampling site, and the material of the sampling head is closely related to the subsequent detection.

The sampling swab head: made of flocked swab or artificial fiber.

Prohibited :calcium alginate sponge swab (including bamboo swab) .

Cotton products can not be used for the head of the swab, because the cotton fiber has strong adsorption on protein and is not easy to elute into the subsequent preservation solution;

The broken wooden stick or bamboo stick containing calcium alginate and wooden components will also adsorb protein and even inhibit the subsequent PCR reaction.

Recommended:PE fiber, polyester fiber, polypropylene fiber and other synthetic fibers  as the materials for manufacturing the swab head.

It is not recommended to use natural fibers such as cotton or nylon fibers, because nylon fibers (similar to toothbrush heads) have poor water absorption, which will lead to insufficient sampling and affect the initial inspection rate.

Pharyngeal swab material: prohibited! calcium alginate sponge.