# Commission Decision of 4 August 2006 approving a Diagnostic Manual for avian influenza as provided for in Council Directive 2005/94/EC (notified under document number C(2006) 3477) (Text with EEA relevance) (2006/437/EC), Division 5: Transport of samples

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

Specific care must be taken for the storage and transport of samples to the laboratory for testing.
The swabs must be chilled immediately on ice or with frozen gel packs and submitted to the laboratory as quickly as possible. The samples must not be frozen unless absolutely necessary. If rapid transport within 24 hours to the laboratory is not guaranteed, the samples must be immediately frozen, stored and then transported on dry ice.
In addition and not as an alternative to chilling, the swabs must be placed in an antibiotic or specific virus transport medium at 4 oC so that they are fully immersed. In the absence of such medium, swabs must be returned to their casing and submitted dry to the laboratory for testing.
The storage and transport of samples may be affected by a variety of factors so the method selected for transport must be fit for that purpose.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2006/437/annex/chapter/IV/division/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2006-437/annex/chapter-IV/division-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.