Safe and effective pool testing for SARS-CoV-2 detection

被引：9

作者：

Wunsch, Marie ^{[1
,2
,3
]}

Aschemeier, Dominik ^{[1
,2
]}

Heger, Eva ^{[1
,2
]}

Ehrentraut, Denise ^{[4
]}

Kruger, Jan ^{[4
]}

Hufbauer, Martin ^{[1
,2
]}

Syed, Adnan S. ^{[1
,2
]}

Horemheb-Rubio, Gibran ^{[1
,2
,7
]}

Dewald, Felix ^{[1
,2
,3
]}

Fish, Irina ^{[1
,2
]}

Schlotz, Maike ^{[1
,2
,3
]}

Gruell, Henning ^{[1
,2
,3
]}

Augustin, Max ^{[5
,6
]}

Lehmann, Clara ^{[5
,6
]}

Kaiser, Rolf ^{[1
,2
]}

Knops, Elena ^{[1
,2
]}

Silling, Steffi ^{[1
,2
]}

Klein, Florian ^{[1
,2
,3
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Cologne, Fac Med, Furst Puckler Str 56, D-50935 Cologne, Germany

[2] Univ Hosp Cologne, Inst Virol, Furst Puckler Str 56, D-50935 Cologne, Germany

[3] Univ Cologne, Ctr Mol Med Cologne, Robert Koch Str 21, D-50931 Cologne, Germany

[4] Univ Cologne, Cologne Excellence Cluster Cellular Stress Respon, Joseph Stelzmann Str 26, D-50931 Cologne, Germany

[5] Univ Cologne, Fac Med, Kerpener Str 62, D-50937 Cologne, Germany

[6] Univ Hosp Cologne, Dept Internal Med 1, Ctr Integrated Oncol Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseld, Kerpener Str 62, D-50937 Cologne, Germany

[7] Inst Nacl Ciencias Med & Nutr Salvador Zubiran, Dept Infect Dis, Mexico City 14080, DF, Mexico

来源：

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL VIROLOGY | 2021年 / 145卷

关键词：

SARS-CoV-2; Pool testing; Surveillance; COLLECTION; VIRUSES; SWABS;

D O I：

10.1016/j.jcv.2021.105018

中图分类号：

Q93 [微生物学];

学科分类号：

071005 ; 100705 ;

摘要：

Objectives: The global spread of SARS-CoV-2 is a serious public health issue. Large-scale surveillance screenings are crucial but can exceed test capacities. We (A) optimized test conditions and (B) implemented pool testing of respiratory swabs into SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. Study design: (A) We determined the optimal pooling strategy and pool size. In addition, we measured the impact of vortexing prior to sample processing, compared a pipette-pooling method (by combining transport medium of several specimens) and a swab-pooling method (by combining several swabs into a test tube filled with PBS) as well as determined the sensitivities of three PCR assays. (B) Finally, we applied high-throughput pool testing for diagnostics. Results: (A) In a low prevalence setting, we defined a preferable pool size of ten in a two-stage hierarchical pool testing strategy. Vortexing of swabs (n = 33) increased cellular yield by a factor of 2.34. By comparing Ct-values of 16 pools generated with two different pooling strategies, pipette-pooling was more efficient compared to swab-pooling. Measuring dilution series of 20 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples in three PCR assays simultaneously revealed detection rates of 85% (assay I), 50% (assay II), and 95% (assay III) at a 1:100 dilution. (B) We systematically pooled 55,690 samples in a period of 44 weeks resulting in a reduction of 47,369 PCR reactions. Conclusions: For implementing pooling strategies into high-throughput diagnostics, we recommend utilizing a pipette-pooling method, performing sensitivity validation of the PCR assays used, and vortexing swabs prior to analyses. Pool testing for SARS-CoV-2 detection is feasible and effective in a low prevalence setting.

引用

页数：7

共 32 条

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