Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology
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Severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread and caused death worldwide. Preventive measures and infection control are underway, and some areas show signs of convergence. Other viruses in addition to SARS-CoV-2 cause cold-like symptoms and spread in the winter. However, the extent to which SARS-CoV-2, influenza viruses and other causative viruses have prevailed since implementing preventive measures is unclear. ⋯ Co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses was not observed. Causative viruses remain prevalent after implementing preventive measures. SARS-CoV-2 differs from influenza viruses in its infectivity.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of a laboratory-developed test targeting the envelope gene with three nucleic acid amplification tests for detection of SARS-CoV-2.
Numerous nucleic acid amplification tests, including real-time, reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) and isothermal amplification methods, have been developed to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA, including many that have received emergency use authorization (EUA). There is a need to assess their test performance relative to one another. ⋯ Performance was comparable among the SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification methods tested, with a limited number of discrepancies observed in specimens with low viral loads.
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Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 numerous antibody assays have become available, demonstrating different performance characteristics. This study focused on a quantitative correlation between different commercial assays and a neutralization test (NT). Comparative data is needed as a basis for the production of convalescent plasma and potential interpretations COVID-19 immunity. ⋯ An infection without fever and negative or weakly positive reactions in the Wantai Rapid test were negative predictive factors for NT titers >1:200 (negative predictive value of 92 % and 92 % respectively, combination of both 100 %). The Wantai ELISA titer could be a suitable substitute for NT. An adequate pooling strategy of plasma units additionally could compensate deviations of individual antibody titers.
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Serological SARS-CoV-2 assays are urgently needed for diagnosis, contact tracing and for epidemiological studies. So far, there is limited data on how recently commercially available, high-throughput immunoassays, using different recombinant SARS-CoV-2 antigens, perform with clinical samples. Focusing on IgG and total antibodies, we demonstrate the performance of four automated immunoassays (Abbott Architect™ i2000 (N protein-based)), Roche cobas™ e 411 analyzer (N protein-based, not differentiating between IgA, IgM or IgG antibodies), LIAISON®XL platform (S1 and S2 protein-based), VIRCLIA® automation system (S1 and N protein-based) in comparison to two ELISA assays (Euroimmun SARS-CoV-2 IgG (S1 protein-based) and Virotech SARS-CoV-2 IgG ELISA (N protein-based)) and an in-house developed plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). ⋯ This should be further analysed. The specificity of the examined assays was ≥ 97%. However, because of the low or unknown prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, the examined assays in this study are currently primarily eligible for epidemiological investigations, as they have limited information in individual testing.
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The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide, with especially severe epidemics occurring in cities across China. ⋯ The COVID-19 infection was of clustering onset and can cause severe respiratory disease and even death. The mortality of ICU patients with COVID-19 was considerably high.