Puritan Medical Products, North America’s largest manufacturer of swabs and specimen collection devices, announces the release of a new swab and collection tube for the detection and quantification of human norovirus.

Developed in partnership with Dr. Jan Vinje of the CDC, the sterile collection system is the latest product in Puritan’s EnviroMax line. The custom configured swab features a flat paddle tip for sampling of a range of environmental surfaces. The shaft of the swab is securely attached to cap of the transport tube, providing a user friendly handle.

Following development work in 2013, the swab was taken into the field. A sampling protocol was prescribed and a team of researchers from a number of universities was deployed to collect specimens from public access locations. When the swabs were later processed in a lab, it was confirmed that the swabs will reliably collect and transport norovirus.

You can read more about the study evaluating the EnviroMax Macrofoam Norovirus Detection Swab and Collection Tube here.

According to the CDC, the highly contagious norovirus causes 19 million to 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the United States per year. The release of Puritan’s new product is timely, as outbreaks typically spike between February and March.

Through Puritan's work with the CDC, environmental scientists are now armed with the device and the protocol not only to detect norovirus but to confirm decontamination was effective.