RÉSUMÉ
UK National Health Service (NHS) Clinical Virology Departments provide a repertoire of tests on clinical samples to detect the presence of viral genomic material or host immune responses to viral infection. In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged which quickly developed into a global pandemic; NHS laboratories responded rapidly to upscale their testing capabilities. To date, there is little information on the impact of increased SARS-CoV-2 screening on non-SARS-CoV-2 testing within NHS laboratories. This report details the virology test requests received by the Leicester-based NHS Virology laboratory from January 2018 to May 2022. Data show that in spite of a dramatic increase in screening, along with multiple logistic and staffing issues, the Leicester Virology Department was mostly able to maintain the same level of service for non-respiratory virus testing while meeting the new increase in SARS-CoV-2 testing.
Sujet(s)
COVID-19 , Pandémies , Humains , SARS-CoV-2 , Médecine d'État , Dépistage de la COVID-19 , Laboratoires , Techniques de laboratoire clinique , COVID-19/diagnostic , COVID-19/épidémiologie , Royaume-Uni/épidémiologieRÉSUMÉ
During the "first wave" of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the United Kingdom (March-June 2020), the city of Leicester was particularly hard hit, resulting in reimposed lockdown measures. Although initial polymerase chain reaction testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was attempted within the community, testing was soon abandoned due to an inability to keep up with demand by local laboratories. It is therefore feasible that undiagnosed transmission of COVID-19 in the community by asymptomatic individuals was a real possibility. Therefore, retrospective SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) testing of archived sera from out-patients visiting University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust service was performed to investigate the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the community. A total of 1779 sera samples were tested from samples collected between 16th March and 3rd June 2020, of which 202 (11.35%) were SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive. Positivity was lowest in March (2.54%) at the beginning of the pandemic before peaking in April (17.16%) before a decline in May and June (11.16% and 12.68%, respectively). This retrospective screening offers some insight into the early patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission within a sampled community population during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic; supporting the argument for more community screening during high incidences of pandemics.
Sujet(s)
Anticorps antiviraux/sang , COVID-19/diagnostic , COVID-19/épidémiologie , Immunoglobuline G/sang , Adolescent , Adulte , Sujet âgé , Sujet âgé de 80 ans ou plus , Enfant , Enfant d'âge préscolaire , Femelle , Humains , Tests immunologiques , Nourrisson , Nouveau-né , Mâle , Dépistage de masse/statistiques et données numériques , Adulte d'âge moyen , Pandémies , Études rétrospectives , Royaume-Uni/épidémiologie , Jeune adulteRÉSUMÉ
We performed a retrospective screening of 428 serum samples for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin during a period of low prevalence. Employing two different serological tests yielded discrepant results for 10 samples; highlighting an increased risk of potential false positive results and the need for further confirmatory testing before publication of data.