Table 3.
Sensitivity for the detection of different viruses according to specimen transport method
| Virus | Episodes with virus identified | Mailed (left nare) | Frozen (right nare) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sensitivity % | 95%CI* | Sensitivity % | 95%CI* | ||
| Rhinovirus | 19 | 68.4 | 43.4–87.4 | 78.9 | 54.4–93.9 |
| Influenza A† | 1 | 100.0 | 25.0–100.0 | 0 | – |
| Adenovirus | 5 | 100.0 | 54.1–100.0 | 20.0 | 0.5–71.6 |
| WU | 3 | 66.7 | 9.4–99.2 | 33.3 | 0.8–90.6 |
| Parainfluenza 2 | 5 | 100.0 | 59.0–100.0 | 40.0 | 5.2–85.3 |
| Parainfluenza 3 | 1 | 0 | – | 100.0 | 25.0–100.0 |
| HCoV‐229E | 6 | 66.7 | 22.2–95.7 | 100.0 | 47.8–100.0 |
| Bocavirus | 21 | 52.4 | 31.0–76.7 | 66.7 | 46.5–86.8 |
| Total | 50 | 67.2 | 55.4–78.9 | 65.6 | 53.7–77.5 |
*Where sensitivity is 100%, a 1‐sided, 97.5% lower CI is provided.
†The single influenza A specimen was confirmed as 2009 pandemic influenza (H1N1) using a previously described swine flu–specific assay (Whiley et al. 2009).