From cold chain to ambient temperature: transport of viral specimens- a review

Abstract

The diagnosis of an aetiology is dependent on the collection, transport, and storage of the infectious sample. The transport of the sample plays a crucial role in the chain of diagnosis. It is important to maintain the biological integrity of the pathogen during the transport of the sample to achieve an accurate diagnosis. This is important, particularly for labile organisms like viruses that are inactivated easily compared to other microorganisms. Many transport media have been utilised to ensure the integrity of the virus during transport. While most of the transport media are focused on preserving the infectious properties of the virus, progress has been made to develop virus transport media to inactivate the virus and obtain the stability of the viral nucleic acid, enabling better molecular diagnosis of the virus aetiologies. This review summarises the various media used for the transport of virus samples and focuses on the need to develop virus transport media that inactivates the virus and preserves the viral nucleic acid.

Development of Aptamers for RNase Inactivation in Xtract-Free™ Sample Collection and Transport Medium

“…Despite their continued use, both VTM/UTM and MTM have limitations. One drawback of VTM/UTM is that they can only preserve live viruses for finite periods, i.e., typically 48–72 h when kept refrigerated, after which the viability of the virus significantly decreases, leading to possible false negative results [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Furthermore, most VTM/UTM usually require cold-chain transportation, and collected pathogens are potentially infectious, adding complexity and cost to sample handling, shipment, and transport [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

“…One drawback of VTM/UTM is that they can only preserve live viruses for finite periods, i.e., typically 48–72 h when kept refrigerated, after which the viability of the virus significantly decreases, leading to possible false negative results [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Furthermore, most VTM/UTM usually require cold-chain transportation, and collected pathogens are potentially infectious, adding complexity and cost to sample handling, shipment, and transport [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Conversely, MTM contains harsh and hazardous chemicals, requires a nucleic acid extraction step, and does not maintain viral infectivity and protein structure, which is essential for virological studies, culture-based detection methods, and rapid antigen/lateral flow tests.…”

Inactivation of highly transmissible livestock and avian viruses including influenza A and Newcastle disease virus for molecular diagnostics

“…Several other studies have evaluated commercial transport media for their compatibility with nucleic acid testing ( 39 ). These studies have shown that PSMTM and other commercially available transport media inactivate several avian viruses as well as SARS-CoV-2 ( 14 , 17 , 23 , 39–43 ). However, nucleic acid preservation results were not available in all these studies.…”

Modified transport medium for improving influenza virus detection

“…Charcoal viral transport medium (CVTM) is specifically designed for the transportation of adenovirus, coxsackie virus, and herpes viruses at room temperature ( Leibovitz, 1969 ; Jensen and Johnson, 1994 ). The BD Universal Viral Transport System (UVT) has been designed to efficiently maintain HSV-1, influenza A, and RSV ( Dsa and Kadni TS, 2023 ). Additionally, PrimeStore ® MTM, an inactivated transport medium, effectively preserves the influenza A virus strain A/California/04/2009 at a temperature of 25°C for a duration of 30 days ( Schlaudecker et al., 2014 ).…”