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Updated: Sep 8, 2025

Swabbing the Urban Environment - A Pipeline for Sampling and Detection of SARS-CoV-2 From Environmental Reservoirs
Published on: April 9, 2021
Surface area matters: An evaluation of swabs and surface area for environmental surface sampling of healthcare
Rolieria M West1, Alicia M Shams1, Monica Y Chan1
1Clinical and Environmental Microbiology Branch, Division of Healthcare Quality and Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
Abstract:
Flocked and foam swabs were used to sample five healthcare pathogens from three sizes of steel and plastic coupons; 26 cm2, 323 cm2, and 645 cm2. As surface area increased, 1-2 log10 decrease in recovered organisms (P < .05) was observed. Sampling 26-cm2 yielded the optimal median percent of pathogens recovered.
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