A low-cost, non-instrumented, easy-to-use disposable platform for extraction, stabilization, and preservation of viral RNA in specimens at the point of collection is described. The system may use chemical heating. The platform performs the following steps: specimen lysis, RNA extraction, and RNA stabilization in a modular approach. This modular approach confers versatility to the product for application to multiple targets such as avian flu, and HIV, specimens such as blood, nasal swabs, and downstream applications such as PCR or transcription-mediated amplification. The technology described is a point-of-care specimen-processing platform generically applicable to both emerging point-of-care and central-facility molecular diagnostic tests, as well as to surveillance applications.