Coronavirus (COVID-19) Collection
Validation of the NeuMoDx™ SARS-CoV-2 assay with COPAN eNAT® and E&O Viral PCR Sample Solution collection media types in comparison with other validated SARS-CoV-2 RNA assays
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA are the gold standard for diagnosis because of their high sensitivity and specificity (Park et al., 2020). Assay validation during the pandemic was challenging because of the need for rapid implementation of novel tests (Vandenberg et al., 2021).Comparison of the clinical sensitivity and specificity of two commercial RNA SARS-CoV-2 assays
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have developed several diagnostic assays for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold standard for diagnosis of active SARS-CoV-2 infections because of its high sensitivity and specificity (Park et al., 2020). Automation in molecular diagnostics enables scaling of testing capacity, which is critical for enabling a large number of tests (Eigner et al., 2019).Performance and cost-effectiveness of a pooled testing strategy for SARS-CoV-2 using real-time polymerase chain reaction in Uganda
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to be an important global health problem with a significant impact on individual and global public health (Fauci et al., 2020). In the face of a rapidly spreading disease with a shortage of vaccines and/or effective treatment, rapid mass testing has been suggested as one of the measures to map, contain and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic (Denny et al., 2020).Comparison of Allplex™ SARS-CoV-2 Assay, Easy SARS-CoV-2 WE and Lumipulse quantitative SARS-CoV-2 antigen test performance using automated systems for the diagnosis of COVID-19
As COVID-19 continues to strain public health systems and vaccination programmes race against new variants that might be more transmissible or capable of evading immune responses, the urgent need for simple, accessible, and frequent testing remains [Tan SH et al 2021]. Despite the fact that molecular assays are considered the gold standard for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, antigen detection assays currently deserve great attention, since they are intrinsically less laborious, require a shorter time to receive results and have the potential to satisfy the pressing demand for early SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis, thus allowing timely adoption of prevention measures against infection spread [Porte L et al 2020; Lambert-Niclot S et al 2020; Kobayashi R et al 2021].Performance of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test compared with real-time RT-PCR in asymptomatic individuals
Given the increase in cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections worldwide, there is a need for a reliable rapid diagnostic test in addition to existing gold standard real-time RT-PCR. Rapid antigen tests (RAT) for SARS-CoV-2 can be performed onsite in mass testing, are inexpensive compared to real-time RT-PCR, do not require specific and expensive equipment, and the results are available within 15 min (CDC, 2021), which could serve to evaluate chains of infection and their interruption. A recent meta-analysis revealed that the average sensitivity and specificity of RAT for SARS-CoV-2 were 56.2% and 99.5%, respectively (Dinnes et al., 2020).First case of postmortem study in a patient vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2
We report on an 86-year-old male resident of a retirement home who received vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Past medical history included systemic arterial hypertension, chronic venous insufficiency, dementia and prostate carcinoma. On January 9, 2021, the man received lipid nanoparticle-formulated, nucleoside-modified RNA vaccine BNT162b2 in a 30 μg dose. On that day and in the following 2 weeks, he presented with no clinical symptoms (Table 1). On day 18, he was admitted to hospital for worsening diarrhea.Rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2, replicating or non-replicating, using RT-PCR
Searching for animals susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection is one of the essential strategies to trace the origin of SARS-CoV-2 (Shi et al., 2020). It is also important to determine whether SARS-CoV-2-contaminated meat is from a SARS-CoV-2 infected animal or not. The established method to determine the status of SARS-CoV-2 replication in tissues or cells is through culturing these samples in a biosafety level 3 facility, however, this is very labor- and time-consuming, and unsafe for researchers/technicians.Patients with COVID-19 and neurological manifestations show undetectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in the cerebrospinal fluid
In December 2019, cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged from Wuhan, China, and were after associated with a novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Since then, reports have described neurological manifestations in addition to the typical clinical symptoms of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), represented by fever, cough, diarrhea, and fatigue. Hospitalized patients with COVID-19, especially those with severe disease, can display neurological disorders as shown by Mao et al. (2020), such as acute cerebrovascular disease in up to 5.7%, impaired consciousness in 14.8%, and skeletal muscle injury in 19.3% of cases.
