ABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is ongoing worldwide, causing prolonged pressure on molecular diagnostics. Viral antigen (Ag) assays have several advantages, ranging from lower cost to shorter turnaround time to detection. Given the rare occurrence of low-load viremia, antigen assays for SARSCoV-2 have focused on nasopharyngeal swab and saliva as biological matrices, but their effectiveness must be validated. We assayed here the performances of the novel quantitative Liaison® SARSCoV-2 Ag assay on 119 nasopharyngeal swabs and obtained results were compared with Hologic Panther and Abbott m2000 RT-qPCR. The Ag assay demonstrated a good correlation with viral load, shorter turnaround time, and favorable economics. The best performance was obtained in the acute phase of disease.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/pathology , SARS-CoV-2 , Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/pathology , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/immunology , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/pharmacology , Female , Genome, Viral/genetics , Humans , Italy , Middle Aged , Peru , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/pathology , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/virology , World Health OrganizationABSTRACT
We report an imported case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant P.1 detected in an asymptomatic traveler who arrived in Italy on an indirect flight from Brazil. This case shows the risk for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 variants from indirect flights and the need for continued SARS-CoV-2 surveillance.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Communicable Diseases, Imported , Diagnostic Screening Programs , SARS-CoV-2 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics , Adult , Brazil/epidemiology , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/immunology , COVID-19/virology , COVID-19 Serological Testing/methods , Carrier State/diagnosis , Carrier State/epidemiology , Communicable Diseases, Imported/diagnosis , Communicable Diseases, Imported/epidemiology , Communicable Diseases, Imported/virology , Diagnostic Screening Programs/organization & administration , Diagnostic Screening Programs/standards , Humans , Italy/epidemiology , Male , Mutation , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , Travel/statistics & numerical data , Travel-Related IllnessABSTRACT
We report here an imported case of SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern B.1.1.351 (also known as 20H/501Y.V2 or "South African variant" or VOC 202012/02) in a 66-years old symptomatic male who returned from Malawi to Italy.