ABSTRACT
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
ABSTRACT
The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019, and its resulting coronavirus disease, COVID-19, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The rapid global spread of COVID-19 represents perhaps the most significant public health emergency in a century. As the pandemic progressed, a continued paucity of evidence on routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission has resulted in shifting infection prevention and control guidelines between classically-defined airborne and droplet precautions. During the initial isolation of 13 individuals with COVID-19 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, we collected air and surface samples to examine viral shedding from isolated individuals. We detected viral contamination among all samples, supporting the use of airborne isolation precautions when caring for COVID-19 patients.
Subject(s)
Aerosols/analysis , Betacoronavirus/genetics , Coronavirus Infections/pathology , Pneumonia, Viral/pathology , Air Pollutants/analysis , Betacoronavirus/isolation & purification , Betacoronavirus/physiology , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/transmission , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Humans , Infection Control/methods , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/transmission , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Public Health , RNA, Viral/isolation & purification , RNA, Viral/metabolism , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , SARS-CoV-2 , Time FactorsABSTRACT
We evaluated the performance of the BioFire® Respiratory Panel 2.1 (RP2.1) in the detection of SARS CoV-2 in comparison against three other SARS CoV-2 EUA assays. In these studies, the RP2.1 panel had 98 % positive percent agreement (48/49) and 100 % negative percent agreement (49/49). Since 30 % of nasopharyngeal swab specimens have a SARS CoV-2 Ct >30 and thus detection of virus in low titers is clinically relevant, a sample with a high titer was diluted and each 10 fold dilution was tested in triplicate and compared against 6 other EUA approved SARS CoV-2 assays. These data suggested that the BioFire® RP2.1 panel, along with four other SARS CoV-2 assays (Roche cobas, Cepheid Xpert Xpress, BioFire® Defense COVID19, and NECoV19), consistently detected viral RNA at the 10-7 dilution. Overall, these studies suggest that the BioFire® RP2.1 assay can be used to detect acute cases of SARS CoV2 in addition to patients with low viral titer later in disease presentation.
Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus/isolation & purification , Clinical Laboratory Techniques/methods , Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Molecular Diagnostic Techniques/methods , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , RNA, Viral/analysis , COVID-19 , COVID-19 Testing , Humans , Nasopharynx/virology , Pandemics , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , RNA, Viral/genetics , SARS-CoV-2 , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
The optimal time to initiate research on emergencies is before they occur. However, timely initiation of high-quality research may launch during an emergency under the right conditions. These include an appropriate context, clarity in scientific aims, preexisting resources, strong operational and research structures that are facile, and good governance. Here, Nebraskan rapid research efforts early during the 2020 coronavirus disease pandemic, while participating in the first use of U.S. federal quarantine in 50 years, are described from these aspects, as the global experience with this severe emerging infection grew apace. The experience has lessons in purpose, structure, function, and performance of research in any emergency, when facing any threat.