Development and validation of a multiplex reverse transcriptase-PCR assay for simultaneous testing of influenza A, influenza B and SARS-CoV-2.
J Virol Methods
; 293: 114151, 2021 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1174407
ABSTRACT
In the current pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the co-circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses during the upcoming fall and winter seasons may present an unprecedented burden of respiratory disease in the population. Important respiratory viruses that will need to be closely monitored during this time include SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B. The epidemiology of these viruses is very similar in terms of susceptible populations, mode of transmission, and the clinical syndromes, thus the etiological agent will be difficult to differentiate without target specific assays. The availability of a sensitive and specific multiplex assay that can simultaneously detect all these targets will be valuable. Here we report the validation of a real-time reverse transciptase-PCR assay for the simultaneous detection of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B. This multiplex assay is comparable to its singleplex counterparts with a limit-of-detection being less than 5 copies/reaction, 100 % specificity, over seven logs of dynamic range, less than 1 % coefficientof variation showing high precision, and equivalent accuracy using patient samples. It also offers the added benefits of savings in reagents and technologist time while improving testing efficiency and turn-around-times in order to respond effectively to the ongoing pandemic.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Influenza A virus
/
Influenza B virus
/
Influenza, Human
/
Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
/
COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Etiology study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Virol Methods
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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