Copan Diagnostics, Inc. Offers Kit for Rapid Collection of Nasopharyngeal Sample to Detect Swine...( MURRIETA Calif. April 27 /- The Cente...),Health

MURRIETA, Calif., April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 40 human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus in the United States and the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern." As the swine flu outbreak develops, physicians' offices, hospital clinics, and emergency rooms prepare to accommodate patients with symptoms of respiratory viral infection.

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Copan Diagnostics' range of patented flocked swabs have been shown in many independent clinical studies to improve the results of respiratory virus diagnostic tests by collecting more patient specimen and then delivering the entire sample into the assay platform or cell culture tube. Copan Universal Transport Medium (UTM) used with Copan Flocked Swabs is the optimum kit combination for virology culture, rapid antigen testing, and DFA testing; and the use of the combined products is also a universal open platform collection and transport system that has been successfully used for culture, EIA, PCR and other molecular based assays.

"We are scaling up production of Flocked Swabs and UTM to address the potential demand," says Norman Sharples, Copan Executive VP. "Our production of Flocked Swabs and UTM has been increased to include shifts 24 hours per day, and we are working closely with our distribution partners to help supply them in case the Swine Flu outbreak escalates further," Sharples affirms.

In cases of influenza, collecting a proper sample in a timely manner is crucial. Copan Flocked Swabs, as opposed to traditional nasopharyngeal washes or aspirates, facilitate the easier sample collection and produce comparable results. Also, by using a Flocked Swab and UTM, the sample collection can be do
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