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Pooled RNA extraction and PCR assay for efficient SARS-CoV-2 detection
Preprint
in En
| PREPRINT-MEDRXIV
| ID: ppmedrxiv-20069062
ABSTRACT
Testing for active SARS-CoV-2 infection is a fundamental tool in the public health measures taken to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the overwhelming use of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests worldwide, availability of test kits has become a major bottleneck. Here we demonstrate pooling strategies to perform RNA extraction and RT-PCR in pools, significantly increasing throughput while maintaining clinical sensitivity. We implemented the method in a routine clinical diagnosis setting of asymptomatic populations, and already tested 5,464 individuals for SARS-CoV-2 using 731 RNA extraction and RT-PCR kits. We identified six SARS-CoV-2 positive patients corresponding to 0.11% of the tested population.
cc_by_nc
Full text:
1
Collection:
09-preprints
Database:
PREPRINT-MEDRXIV
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Language:
En
Year:
2020
Document type:
Preprint