Specimen Requirements

Acceptable Specimens: Cutaneous and Mucotaneous lesions from dermal, genital, ocular or oral sites.

Submit only 1 of the following specimens:

Dermal Lesion
1. Premoisten swab from viral culture transport with sterile saline.

2. Collect cells from base of lesion.
3. Replace swab into viral culture transport tube.
4. Send specimen refrigerated. Maintain sterility and forward promptly.
Note:  Specimen source is required on request form for processing.

Vesicle Fluid
1. Aspirate fluid from vesicle with tuberculin (TB) syringe.
2. Express fluid into viral culture transport tube.
3. Send specimen refrigerated. Maintain sterility and forward promptly.
Note:  Specimen source is required on request form for processing.

** For Genital, Ocular, and Throat specimen collection instructions, please refer to HSVCUL testing.