Longitudinal assessment of diagnostic test performance over the course of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Rebecca L SmithLaura L GibsonPamela P MartinezRuian KeAgha MirzaMadison ConteNicholas GallagherAbigail ConteLeyi WangRick FredricksonDarci C EdmonsonMelinda E BaughmanKaren K ChiuHannah ChoiTor W JensenKevin R ScardinaShannon BradleyStacy L GlossCrystal ReinhartJagadeesh YedetoreAlyssa N OwensJohn BroachBruce BartonPeter LazarDarcy HennessTodd YoungAlastair DunnettMatthew L RobinsonHeba H MostafaAndrew S PekoszYukari C ManabeWilliam J HeetderksDavid D McManusChristopher B BrookePublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2021)
RTqPCR tests will be more effective than rapid antigen tests at identifying infected individuals prior to or early during the infectious period and thus for minimizing forward transmission (provided results reporting is timely). All modalities, including rapid antigen tests, showed >94% sensitivity to detect infection if used at least twice per week. Regular surveillance/screening using rapid antigen tests 2-3 times per week can be an effective strategy to achieve high sensitivity (>95%) for identifying infected individuals.