ABSTRACT
Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) is a robust and cost-effective assay for rapid diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 compared to reverse transcription quantitative (RT-q) PCR. The study evaluated the performance of RT-LAMP technique that incorporated a simple Chelex 100 resin-based RNA extraction step for SARS-CoV-2 detection targeting virus E (encoding envelope protein) and RdRP (encoding RNA-dependent RNA polymerase). Using primer sets for E and RdRP, the developed RT-LAMP assay had a limit of detection (LOD) of 1 copy/µl transcribed RNA. For nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab samples (n = 58), in comparison to the gold standard RT-qPCR (amplifying E and RdRP) sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of SARS-CoV-2 RT-LAMP assay targeting E gene was 88% (95% confidence interval (CI): 75-96%), 87% (95% CI: 59-98%), 99% (95% CI: 97-100%), and 28% (95% CI: 14-48%), respectively and for RdRP gene was 67% (95% CI: 51-98%), 87% (95% CI: 59-98%), 100% (95% CI: 96-100%), and 12% (95% CI: 8-18%), respectively. The whole process of RT-LAMP assay was completed within ~60 minutes. This developed RT-LAMP method for on-site COVID-19 detection should be useful in resource limited settings. © 2022, SEAMEO TROPMED Network. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Based on the information suggested by World Health Organization (WHO) and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, wearing a mask and sterilizing hands with alcohol-based hand disinfectants are effective ways to maintain good personal hygiene to prevent viral infections. This study focused on the real-time concentrations of alcohol vapor in the air associated with five alcohol-based hand disinfectants. The results indicated that the alcohol concentrations increased dramatically (max. ~46,000 ppb/g sample) in the hand-rubbing process. Hong Kong residents' survey on habits of using such disinfectants showed that 65% of people use them daily and 34% of people use them ≥ 5 times per day, indicating a high frequency of usage. About 79% of respondents claimed to have skin problems, and 18% got eyes discomfort when using these disinfectants. Despite the potential health risks of using alcohol disinfectants remaining unclear, such a large amount and frequent usage should be aware of potential health problems in the long term. © 2022 by the authors.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19/complications , Child , Humans , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/diagnosisABSTRACT
Vaccines against COVID-19 are now available for adolescents in Hong Kong but vaccine hesitancy is a major barrier to herd immunity. This survey study explores Hong Kong adolescents' attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccination. 2609 adolescents from across Hong Kong completed an online survey focused on the intent to vaccinate and the reasons for their choice. 39% of adolescents intended to take the COVID-19 vaccination and significant factors for this decision include: having at least one parent vaccinated, knowing somebody diagnosed with COVID-19 and receiving the influenza vaccine. Adolescents' major concerns were either the safety and efficacy of the vaccine or the risk of infection. This study has proved that even in adolescents the vaccine hesitancy model is prominent with adolescents' intentions highly related to confidence in the vaccine and perception of disease risk. Future interventions should target these specific concerns to ensure adolescents are well educated to overcome vaccine hesitancy.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Influenza Vaccines , Adolescent , Attitude , COVID-19 Vaccines , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , VaccinationABSTRACT
Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in late December 2019, and escalation of the public hospital infectious disease outbreak response level to the highest "emergency" level three days after two COVID-19 cases were diagnosed on 22 January 2020, all public hospitals implemented a series of isolation policies, rescheduled clinical services and mobilised resources to support frontline clinical staff. This article reviewed these multi-level policies adopted in the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital, which have ensured that the healthcare system was not overwhelmed and frontline staff was not over-stressed and infected.