Excellent option for mass testing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: painless self-collection and direct RT-qPCR.
Eva KriegovaRegina FillerovaMilan RaskaJirina ManakovaMartin DihelOndrej JancaPavel SauerMartina KlimkovaPetra StrakovaPetr KvapilPublished in: Virology journal (2021)
The early identification of asymptomatic yet infectious cases is vital to curb the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and to control the disease in the post-pandemic era. In this paper, we propose a fast, inexpensive and high-throughput approach using painless nasal-swab self-collection followed by direct RT-qPCR for the sensitive PCR detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This approach was validated in a large prospective cohort study of 1038 subjects, analysed simultaneously using (1) nasopharyngeal swabs obtained with the assistance of healthcare personnel and analysed by classic two-step RT-qPCR on RNA isolates and (2) nasal swabs obtained by self-collection and analysed with direct RT-qPCR. Of these subjects, 28.6% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 using nasopharyngeal swab sampling. Our direct RT-qPCR approach for self-collected nasal swabs performed well with results similar to those of the two-step RT-qPCR on RNA isolates, achieving 0.99 positive and 0.98 negative predictive values (cycle threshold [Ct] < 37). Our research also reports on grey-zone viraemia, including samples with near-cut-off Ct values (Ct ≥ 37). In all investigated subjects (n = 20) with grey-zone viraemia, the ultra-small viral load disappeared within hours or days with no symptoms. Overall, this study underscores the importance of painless nasal-swab self-collection and direct RT-qPCR for mass testing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and in the post-pandemic era.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- healthcare
- computed tomography
- high throughput
- image quality
- chronic rhinosinusitis
- coronavirus disease
- dual energy
- contrast enhanced
- magnetic resonance imaging
- positron emission tomography
- high resolution
- emergency department
- white matter
- magnetic resonance
- multiple sclerosis
- depressive symptoms
- health insurance
- adverse drug
- genetic diversity
- single molecule
- high speed
- nucleic acid
- electronic health record