Eurosurv. Multicentre comparison of quantitative PCR-based assays to detect SARS-CoV-2, Germany, March 2020

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• Multicentre comparison of quantitative PCR-based assays to detect SARS-CoV-2, Germany, March 2020
  
  
• Maximilian Muenchhoff[SUP]1,2[/SUP] , Helga Mairhofer[SUP]1,2[/SUP] , Hans Nitschko[SUP]1,2[/SUP] , Natascha Grzimek-Koschewa[SUP]1,2[/SUP] , Dieter Hoffmann[SUP]2,3[/SUP] , Annemarie Berger[SUP]2,4[/SUP] , Holger Rabenau[SUP]2,4[/SUP] , Marek Widera[SUP]2,4[/SUP] , Nikolaus Ackermann[SUP]5[/SUP] , Regina Konrad[SUP]5[/SUP] , Sabine Zange[SUP]2,6[/SUP] , Alexander Graf[SUP]7[/SUP] , Stefan Krebs[SUP]7[/SUP] , Helmut Blum[SUP]7[/SUP] , Andreas Sing[SUP]5[/SUP] , Bernhard Liebl[SUP]5[/SUP] , Roman W?lfel[SUP]2,6[/SUP] , Sandra Ciesek[SUP]2,4[/SUP] , Christian Drosten[SUP]2,8[/SUP] , Ulrike Protzer[SUP]2,3[/SUP] , Stephan Boehm[SUP]1,2[/SUP] , Oliver T Keppler[SUP]1,2[/SUP]

Containment strategies and clinical management of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients during the current pandemic depend on reliable diagnostic PCR assays for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we compare 11 different RT-PCR test systems used in seven diagnostic laboratories in Germany in March 2020. While most assays performed well, we identified detection problems in a commonly used assay that may have resulted in false-negative test results during the first weeks of the pandemic.


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