ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the BD Veritor system for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2, an immunochromatographic point-of-care test, by comparing it with a standard reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) methodology using samples from symptomatic patients. Samples from 146 symptomatic and 2 asymptomatic patients between the 1st and the 40th day of infection were evaluated. The nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs were inserted in a tube containing 0.9% saline solution and stored at refrigerator temperature until the moment of use. The samples were first tested with the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 (GeneXpert) kit (RT-PCR method), and the cycle thresholds (CTs) for the E and N2 genes encoding the SARS-CoV-2 envelope and nucleoprotein, respectively, were established. Subsequently, the same samples were tested using the Veritor rapid test. We analyzed the CTs of the N2 gene, which is detected in both methodologies, and observed sensitivities of 100%, 98.8%, 89.6%, and 82.7% for the CTs of <25, <27, and <30 and all the CTs, respectively. The greatest sensitivity was observed when we performed the test on patients within 5 days of symptom onset. The BD Veritor system's workflow is simple and fast, taking approximately 16 min from sample preparation to obtaining the test result. In addition to its satisfactory sensitivity, with results that correlate with those of the RT-PCR, the BD Veritor analyzer instrument reduces the subjectivity of unaided visual readings and consequent potential variation in result interpretation. Therefore, our results showed that the BD Veritor diagnostic test can provide a rapid and accurate diagnosis for SARS-CoV-2. IMPORTANCE This study provides important and useful information, especially for diagnostic laboratories, since the results show that the BD Veritor system can provide a fast and safe point-of-care antigen diagnostic test for rapid detection of COVID-19 that has high sensitivity, reproducibility, and accuracy.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humans , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , COVID-19/diagnosis , Reverse Transcription , Reproducibility of Results , Saline Solution , Sensitivity and Specificity , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Nucleoproteins/geneticsABSTRACT
O Brasil é nacionalmente conhecido pela sua riqueza e diversidade de alimentos provenientes do ambiente marinho. A carne de pescado é rica em proteínas de alto valor nutritivo, vitaminas, principalmente A e D, além de possuir alta digestibilidade devido à qualidade da fração lipídica, rica em ácidos graxos insaturados e baixo teor de colesterol. Entretanto, os peixes são altamente susceptíveis ao processo de deterioração devido ao pH próximo à neutralidade, à elevada atividade de água nos tecidos e ao elevado teor de nutrientes, que são facilmente utilizados pelo microrganismos presentes em sua superfície, facilitando sua decomposição por bactérias. Com o propósito de avaliar as qualidades higiênico-sanitárias e microbiológicas dos peixes adquiridos na Grande São Paulo, foram analisadas 88 amostras de peixes do tipo pescada e atum provenientes de três estabelecimentos comerciais (feira-livre, supermercados e CEAGESP) na condição de consumidores. As amostras foram analisadas de acordo com as recomendações do Ministério da Saúde para avaliação microbiológica dos produtos adquiridos. Os resultados obtidos nas análises microbiológicas de coliformes fecais foram de 79,6 por cento de amostras contaminadas; os que se encontravam fora do padrão exigido pela legislação foram de 57,1 por cento, 50,0 por cento e 50,0 por cento nos estabelecimentos CEAGESP, supermercado e feira-livre respectivamente...
