CDC & FDA Cautions Use of COVID-19 Transport Medias with Guanidine thiocyanate

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reminds laboratory staff to use transport media (the liquid that maintains a specimen sample while it is transported to a laboratory) that are compatible with the SARS-CoV-2 testing platforms and the processes used in their laboratory to process samples collected from people who are being tested for SARS-CoV-2. There is a risk of exposure to harmful cyanide gas, a by-product of a reaction between guanidine thiocyanate or similar chemicals and bleach (sodium hypochlorite), when certain transport media are used with an incompatible testing platform or laboratory process. Guanidine thiocyanate may be referred to as guanidinium rhodanide, guanidinium thiocyanate, or guanidinium.”

Microbiological Transport Medias to Avoid:

  • PrimeStore molecular transport media (MTM) (LH-1-02 and LH-1-03)
  • Zymo DNA/RNA Shield
  • Spectrum Solutions Saliva Collection Device

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/letters-health-care-providers/transport-media-safety-risk-use-compatible-transport-media-sars-cov-2-tests-use-bleach-letter

https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dls/locs/2020/mtm_and_cyanide_gas.html

Share on:

Comments are closed.