Figure 2.

How to take a throat swab. ① Press the tongue with a tongue depressor to reveal both palatine tonsils and uvula. ② Without touching the uvula, place a sterile swab deep inside the throat, past the uvula. ③ Gently stroke one palatine tonsil, posterior nasopharynx, and the other palatine tonsil, in the order specified. ④ Collect samples of lesions such as exudate in the area of sample collection. Be careful not to touch other areas in the mouth, such as the tongue and inner cheek, or to contaminate the swab with saliva. Immediately place the swab in a sterile tube and send it to the laboratory [26]