Abstract
Introduction: Testing for active SARS-CoV-2 infection is a fundamental tool in the public health measures taken to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the overwhelming use of SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription (RT)-PCR tests worldwide, the availability of test kits has become a major bottleneck and the need to increase testing throughput is rising. We aim to overcome these challenges by pooling samples together, and performing RNA extraction and RT-PCR in pools. Methods: We tested the efficiency and sensitivity of pooling strategies for RNA extraction and RT-PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2. We tested 184 samples both individually and in pools to estimate the effects of pooling. We further implemented Dorfman pooling with a pool size of eight samples in large-scale clinical tests. Results: We demonstrated pooling strategies that increase testing throughput while maintaining high sensitivity. A comparison of 184 samples tested individually and in pools of eight samples showed that test results were not significantly affected. Implementing the eight-sample Dorfman pooling to test 26 576 samples from asymptomatic individuals, we identified 31 (0.12%) SARS-CoV-2 positive samples, achieving a 7.3-fold increase in throughput. Discussion: Pooling approaches for SARS-CoV-2 testing allow a drastic increase in throughput while maintaining clinical sensitivity. We report the successful large-scale pooled screening of asymptomatic populations.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1248-1253 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Clinical Microbiology and Infection |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Keywords
- COVID-19
- Diagnostics
- Group testing
- Infectious diseases
- RT-PCR