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A LABORATORY VALIDATION OF SELF-COLLECTED NASAL SWAB AND RHINOSWAB FOR THE DETECTION OF SARS-COV-2
- Source :
- International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol 130, Iss , Pp S112-S113 (2023)
- Publication Year :
- 2023
- Publisher :
- Elsevier, 2023.
-
Abstract
- Intro: In Australia, the main methods to diagnose COVID-19 are through rapid antigen tests (RATs) and through nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT, including polymerase chain reaction) on healthcare worker (HCW)-collected combined nose/throat swabs. With self-collection widely used by the public for RATs, the aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of self-collected samples using commercial NAAT for SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Consenting participants aged 14 years and older were provided with a self-collection pack containing instructions and either a FLOQSwab (Copan) or a Rhinoswab (Rhinomed). Participants collected their own nasal sample unsupervised prior to having a HCW-collected combined nose and throat swab taken for standard of care NAAT. Paired self-collected and HCW samples were tested on the cobas SARS-CoV-2 assay (Roche) and the Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay (Hologic). Findings: We demonstrated comparable sensitivity, specificity, and agreement between self-collected nasal and Rhinoswab samples, compared to HCW- collected samples tested using the cobas SARS-CoV-2 and Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assays. In our study the clinical performance of self-collected specimens was comparable to HCW-collected samples, with both self-collect nasal and Rhinoswab samples resulting in 90-95% sensitivity, and in most cases >95% specificity. Discussion: Without the availability of samples for NAAT the ability to perform genomic testing is limited, reducing surveillance and public health investigations. We showed that genomic sequencing from self-collected samples can correctly identify the virus lineage and that the main determination of successful genomic testing is a high viral load rather than collection method. Conclusion: These data support self-collection as an accessible method for community testing for COVID-19 and introduces a novel collection device, the Rhinoswab as an alternative to the standard nasal swab. The testing method of self-collection can be expanded from the widely used RATs to NAAT and genomic testing which may inform the management and public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Subjects :
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
RC109-216
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 12019712
- Volume :
- 130
- Issue :
- S112-S113
- Database :
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Journal :
- International Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- edsdoj.0dbc1d20b842eaa506d00af8b67ded
- Document Type :
- article
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2023.04.279