Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in combined nasal-and-throat swabs collected from COVID-19 individuals under the Universal Community Testing Programme in Hong Kong.
J Virol Methods
; 300: 114396, 2022 Feb.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34856306
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Combined nasal-and-throat swabs (CNTS) is less invasive and easy to execute. CNTS also induces lower risk to healthcare workers upon collection. However, there is a lack of data on viral load assessment for population-wide testing.OBJECTIVE:
This study assessed if CNTS is suitable as an alternative specimen type for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.METHODS:
We assessed the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in CNTS collected from COVID-19 individuals through the 2-week period of the Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) conducted in Hong Kong. In addition, we compared viral loads of SARS-CoV-2 for the paired CNTS and non-CNTS specimens among these individuals.RESULTS:
This UCTP identified 48 COVID-19 individuals from nearly 2 million specimens collected. The viral loads of SARS-CoV-2 varied widely, cycle threshold values Ct 16.28-36.94, among symptoms and asymptomatic individuals. The viral loads for the paired CNTS and non-CNTS specimens were comparable.CONCLUSIONS:
This study demonstrated that CNTS could be a specimen of choice for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Virol Methods
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article