Table 64.

Laboratory Diagnosis of Enteroviruses and Parechoviruses Infection

Diagnostic Procedures	Optimal Specimen	Transport Issues and Optimal Transport Time
NAAT	CSFa	Sterile tube, RT, <2 h
	Plasmab	EDTA or PPT, ≤2 h
	Serumb	SST, RT ≤2 h
	Urine	Sterile container, RT, <2 h
Culture	Plasmab	EDTA or PPT, RT, <2 h
	Stool	Sterile container, RT, <2 h
	Throat swab	Sterile container or viral transport medium, RT, <2 h

Abbreviations: CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; EDTA, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; NAAT, nucleic acid amplification test; PPT, plasma preparation tube; RT, room temperature; SST, serum separator tube.

^aA commercial US Food and Drug Administration–cleared product is available for rapid polymerase chain reaction testing for enteroviruses in CSF.

^bWhole blood is a less reliable source for detection by culture or NAAT methods.