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The emergence of the novel coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in the late months of 2019 had the officials to declare a public health emergency leading to a global response. Public measurements rely on an accurate diagnosis of individuals infected with the virus by using real‐time reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The aim of our study is to relate the fundamental clinical and analytical performance of SARS‐CoV‐2 (RT‐PCR) commercial kits. A total of 94 clinical samples were selected. Generally, 400 µl of each respiratory specimen was subjected to extraction using ExiPrep 96 Viral RNA Kit. All kits master mix preparation, cycling protocol, thermocycler, and results interpretation were carried out according to the manufacturer's instructions of use and recommendations. The performance of the kits was comparable except for the LYRA kit as it was less sensitive (F = 67, p, Highlights The aim of our study is to relate the fundamental clinical and analytical performance of SARS‐COV‐2 (RT‐PCR) commercial kits.Overall, four kits scored a sensitivity of 100% including: BGI, IQ Real, Sansure, and RADI. For specificity, all the tested kits scored above 95%.Whole‐genome sequencing was used to analysis the nucleotide and amino acid identity and the genetic diversity of G9P[8] RVAs in this study.The performance of these commercial kits by gene target showed no significant change in Ct values which indicates that kits disparities are mainly linked to the oligonucleotide of the gene target.We recommend including kits with multiple targets in order to monitor the virus changes over time.

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness first reported in Saudi Arabia in September 2012 caused by the human coronavirus (CoV), MERS-CoV. Using full-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, scientists have identified three clades and multiple lineages of MERS-CoV in humans and the zoonotic host, dromedary camels. In this study, we have characterized eight MERS-CoV isolates collected from patients in Saudi Arabia in 2015. We have performed full-genome sequencing on the viral isolates, and compared them to the corresponding clinical specimens. All isolates were clade B, lineages 4 and 5. Three of the isolates carry deletions located on three independent regions of the genome in the 5'UTR, ORF1a and ORF3. All novel MERS-CoV strains replicated efficiently in Vero and Huh7 cells. Viruses with deletions in the 5'UTR and ORF1a exhibited impaired viral release in Vero cells. These data emphasize the plasticity of the MERS-CoV genome during human infection.

Introduction. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus was first recognized in September 2012 in Saudi Arabia. The clinical presentations of MERS and non-MERS SARI are often similar. Therefore, the identification of suspected cases that may have higher chances of being diagnosed as cases of MERS-CoV is essential. However, the real challenge is to flag these patients through some demographic markers. The nature of these markers has not previously been investigated in Saudi Arabia, and hence, this study aims to identify them. Methods. It was a surveillance system-based study, for which data from a total of 23,646 suspected patients in Riyadh and Al Qassim regions were analyzed from January 2017 until December 2017 to estimate the prevalence of MERS-CoV among suspected cases and to determine potential demographic risk factors related to the confirmation of the diagnosis. Results. Of 23,646 suspected cases, 119 (0.5%) were confirmed by laboratory results. These confirmed cases (67.2% of which were males) had a mean age of 43.23 years (SD ± 22.8). Around 42.2% of the confirmed cases were aged between 41 and 60 years and about 47% of confirmed cases had their suspected specimen tested in the summer. The study identified three significant and independent predictors for confirmation of the disease: an age between 41 and 60 years, male gender, and summer season admission. Conclusion. The study provides evidence that the MERS-CoV epidemic in the subject regions has specific characteristics that might help future plans for the prevention and management of such a contagious disease. Future studies should aim to confirm such findings in other regions of Saudi Arabia as well and explore potential preventable risk factors.