tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Public Health
. 2021 Dec 17;9:789402.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.789402. eCollection 2021.
Pooling for SARS-CoV2 Surveillance: Validation and Strategy for Implementation in K-12 Schools
Alexandra M Simas[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jimmy W Crott[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Chris Sedore[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Augusta Rohrbach[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Anthony P Monaco[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Stacey B Gabriel[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Niall Lennon[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Brendan Blumenstiel[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Caroline A Genco[SUP] 1 2 7 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Repeated testing of a population is critical for limiting the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and for the safe reopening of educational institutions such as kindergarten-grade 12 (K-12) schools and colleges. Many screening efforts utilize the CDC RT-PCR based assay which targets two regions of the novel Coronavirus nucleocapsid gene. The standard approach of testing each person individually, however, poses a financial burden to these institutions and is therefore a barrier to using testing for re-opening. Pooling samples from multiple individuals into a single test is an attractive alternate approach that promises significant cost savings-however the specificity and sensitivity of such approaches needs to be assessed prior to deployment. To this end, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of analyzing samples in pools of eight by the established RT-PCR assay. Participants (1,576) were recruited from amongst the Tufts University community undergoing regular screening. Each volunteer provided two swabs, one analyzed separately and the other in a pool of eight. Because the positivity rate was very low, we spiked approximately half of the pools with laboratory-generated swabs produced from known positive cases outside the Tufts testing program. The results of pooled tests had 100% correspondence with those of their respective individual tests. We conclude that pooling eight samples does not negatively impact the specificity or sensitivity of the RT-PCR assay and suggest that this approach can be utilized by institutions seeking to reduce surveillance costs.
Keywords: COVID-19; RT-PCR assay; SARS-CoV-2; pooled testing methodology; screening.
. 2021 Dec 17;9:789402.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.789402. eCollection 2021.
Pooling for SARS-CoV2 Surveillance: Validation and Strategy for Implementation in K-12 Schools
Alexandra M Simas[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jimmy W Crott[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Chris Sedore[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Augusta Rohrbach[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Anthony P Monaco[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Stacey B Gabriel[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Niall Lennon[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Brendan Blumenstiel[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Caroline A Genco[SUP] 1 2 7 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34976934
- PMCID: PMC8718607
- DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.789402
Abstract
Repeated testing of a population is critical for limiting the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and for the safe reopening of educational institutions such as kindergarten-grade 12 (K-12) schools and colleges. Many screening efforts utilize the CDC RT-PCR based assay which targets two regions of the novel Coronavirus nucleocapsid gene. The standard approach of testing each person individually, however, poses a financial burden to these institutions and is therefore a barrier to using testing for re-opening. Pooling samples from multiple individuals into a single test is an attractive alternate approach that promises significant cost savings-however the specificity and sensitivity of such approaches needs to be assessed prior to deployment. To this end, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of analyzing samples in pools of eight by the established RT-PCR assay. Participants (1,576) were recruited from amongst the Tufts University community undergoing regular screening. Each volunteer provided two swabs, one analyzed separately and the other in a pool of eight. Because the positivity rate was very low, we spiked approximately half of the pools with laboratory-generated swabs produced from known positive cases outside the Tufts testing program. The results of pooled tests had 100% correspondence with those of their respective individual tests. We conclude that pooling eight samples does not negatively impact the specificity or sensitivity of the RT-PCR assay and suggest that this approach can be utilized by institutions seeking to reduce surveillance costs.
Keywords: COVID-19; RT-PCR assay; SARS-CoV-2; pooled testing methodology; screening.