Evaluation of Self-collected Saliva Samples Without Viral Transport Media for SARS-CoV-2 Testing via RT-PCR and Comparison of Amplicon Sequences Against Commonly Used Primers in Diagnostic Assays.
Mil Med
; 189(Supplement_3): 184-189, 2024 Aug 19.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39160794
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 using nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) is costly, uncomfortable for patients, and increases the chance of virus exposure to health care workers. Therefore, this study focused on determining if self-collected unpreserved saliva can be an effective alternative to NPS collection in COVID-19 surveillance. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
In this study, patients being tested for SARS-CoV-2 using NPS were asked to provide a saliva sample to compare their results. NPS samples were evaluated for SARS-CoV-2 using BioFire® FilmArray® Torch® or Cepheid® GeneXpert® systems while saliva samples were evaluated using an in-house developed reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) which targeted the Envelope (E) and Nucleocapsid (N) genes.RESULTS:
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 using self-collected saliva was found to be only slightly less accurate (<5%) than testing using NPS. In addition, initial saliva RT-PCR identified 27 positive subjects, 18 of which provided amplicons sufficient for confirmatory sequencing. The sequencing data showed a genetic shift in the virus within our population sometime between 22 June and July 8, 2021 from Alpha to Delta variant.CONCLUSIONS:
The saliva sample collection method identifies the E gene in SARS COVID-2 samples which provides an alternative specimen source to the NPS. This identifies the S gene and ORF1ab. Saliva collection is more convenient to the patient, yields comparable results to NPS collection, and potentially increases Covid-19 surveillance.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Saliva
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Manejo de Especímenes
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Prueba de Ácido Nucleico para COVID-19
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SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Límite:
Adult
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Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mil Med
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido