COVID-19
VirologyAnalytical Sensitivity of the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag CardMultiple rapid antigen (Ag) tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have recently received emergency-use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
MycologyFrequency of Positive Aspergillus Tests in COVID-19 Patients in Comparison to Other Patients with Pulmonary Infections Admitted to the Intensive Care UnitThe aim of this study was to describe the frequency of positive Aspergillus tests in COVID-19 patients and investigate the association between COVID-19 and a positive Aspergillus test result. We compared the proportion of positive Aspergillus tests in COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for >24 h with two control groups: patients with community-acquired pneumonia with (i) a PCR-...
ImmunoassaysMulticenter Evaluation of the Clinical Performance and the Neutralizing Antibody Activity Prediction Properties of 10 High-Throughput Serological Assays Used in Clinical LaboratoriesAs the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic second wave is emerging, it is of the upmost importance to screen the population immunity in order to keep track of infected individuals. Consequently, immunoassays for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with high specificity and positive predictive values are needed to obtain an accurate epidemiological picture.
VirologyVariable Sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 Molecular Detection in European Expert Laboratories: External Quality Assessment, June and July 2020During the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, robust detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a key element for clinical management and to interrupt transmission chains. We organized an external quality assessment (EQA) of molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 for European expert laboratories. An EQA panel composed of 12 samples, containing either SARS-CoV-2 at different concentrations...
VirologySaliva Is a Promising Alternative Specimen for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Children and AdultsTesting efforts for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been burdened by the scarcity of testing materials and personal protective equipment for health care workers. The simple and painless process of saliva collection allows for widespread testing, but enthusiasm is hampered by variable performance compared to that of nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) samples.
ImmunoassaysA Multiplex Microsphere IgG Assay for SARS-CoV-2 Using ACE2-Mediated Inhibition as a Surrogate for NeutralizationThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the challenges inherent to the serological detection of a novel pathogen such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Serological tests can be used diagnostically and for surveillance, but their usefulness depends on their throughput, sensitivity, and specificity. Here, we describe a multiplex fluorescent microsphere-based assay, 3Flex, that can...
ImmunoassaysEvaluation of a SARS-CoV-2 Surrogate Virus Neutralization Test for Detection of Antibody in Human, Canine, Cat, and Hamster SeraSurrogate neutralization assays for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that can be done without biosafety level 3 containment and in multiple species are desirable. We evaluate a recently developed surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) in comparison to 90% plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNT90) in human, canine, cat, and hamster sera. With PRNT90 as the reference, sVNT had...
VirologyInference of Active Viral Replication in Cases with Sustained Positive Reverse Transcription-PCR Results for SARS-CoV-2The purpose of this study was to detect coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases with persistent positive reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), for which viable virus can be inferred due to the presence of subgenomic (SG) viral RNA, which is expressed only in replicating viruses. RNA remnants purified from diagnostic nasopharyngeal specimens were used as the...
VirologyComparative Performance of Five Commercially Available Serologic Assays To Detect Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and Identify Individuals with High Neutralizing TitersAccurate serological assays to detect antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are needed to characterize the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and identify potential candidates for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent plasma (CCP) donation. This study compared the performances of commercial enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) with respect to detection of IgG or total antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and...
VirologyComparison of the Quidel Sofia SARS FIA Test to the Hologic Aptima SARS-CoV-2 TMA Test for Diagnosis of COVID-19 in Symptomatic OutpatientsThe Quidel Sofia severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) fluorescent immunoassay (FIA) test (SOFIA) is a rapid antigen immunoassay for the detection of SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proteins from nasal or nasopharyngeal swab specimens. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of the SOFIA test to those of the Hologic Aptima SARS-CoV-2 TMA test (APTIMA TMA), a high-throughput molecular diagnostic test that uses...