Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology
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The final months of 2019 witnessed the emergence of a novel coronavirus in the human population. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has since spread across the globe and is posing a major burden on society. Measures taken to reduce its spread critically depend on timely and accurate identification of virus-infected individuals by the most sensitive and specific method available, i.e. real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). ⋯ Using clinical samples, we observed some variations in detection rate between kits. Importantly, none of the assays showed cross-reactivity with other respiratory (corona)viruses, except as expected for the SARS-CoV-1 E-gene. We conclude that all RT-PCR kits assessed in this study may be used for routine diagnostics of COVID-19 in patients by experienced molecular diagnostic laboratories.
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Letter Comparative Study
Five-minute point-of-care testing for SARS-CoV-2: Not there yet.
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Multicenter Study
Multi-center evaluation of cepheid xpert® xpress SARS-CoV-2 point-of-care test during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
With the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, rapid diagnostics are paramount to contain the current pandemic. The routinely used realtime RT-PCR is sensitive, specific and able to process large batches of samples. However, turnaround time is long and in cases where fast obtained results are critical, molecular point of care tests (POCT) can be an alternative. Here we report on a multicenter evaluation of the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 point-of-care test. ⋯ Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 point of care test showed equal performance compared to routine in-house testing with a limit of detection (LOD) of 8.26 copies/mL. Other seasonal respiratory viruses were not detected. In clinical samples Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 reaches an agreement of 100 % compared to all in-house RT-PCRs CONCLUSION: Cepheids GeneXpert Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 is a valuable addition for laboratories in situations where rapid and accurate diagnostics are of the essence.
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There is an increasing number of confirmed cases and deaths caused by the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contributing to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. At this point, the need for further disease characterization is critical. ⋯ It has been noted that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected in fecal matter for an extended period of time, even after respiratory samples have tested negative and patients are asymptomatic. In this article, SARS-CoV-2 and its disease COVID-19 will be reviewed with consideration of the latest literature about gastrointestinal symptomatology, the mechanisms by which the virus may inflict damage, and the possibility of viral replication contributing to a fecal-oral route of transmission.