Environmental sampling for SARS-CoV-2 at a reference laboratory and provincial hospital in central Viet Nam, 2020.

Objective: To determine whether environmental surface contamination with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) occurred at a provincial hospital in Viet Nam that admitted patients with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and at the regional reference laboratory responsible for confirmatory testing for SARS-CoV-2 in 2020.

Methods: Environmental samples were collected from patient and staff areas at the hospital and various operational and staff areas at the laboratory. Specimens from frequently touched surfaces in all rooms were collected using a moistened swab rubbed over a 25 cm area for each surface.

Respiratory virus laboratory pandemic planning and surveillance in central Viet Nam, 2008-2010.

Introduction: Laboratory capacity is needed in central Viet Nam to provide early warning to public health authorities of respiratory outbreaks of importance to human health, for example the outbreak of influenza A(H1N1) pandemic in 2009. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedures established as part of a capacity-building process were used to conduct prospective respiratory surveillance in a region where few previous studies have been undertaken.

Methods: Between October 2008 and September 2010, nose and throat swabs from adults and children (approximately 20 per week) presenting with an acute respiratory illness to the Ninh Hoa General Hospital were collected.