Detection of SARS-CoV-2 is comparable in clinical samples preserved in saline or viral transport media

As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the world, the availability of viral transport media (VTM) has become severely limited, contributing to delays in diagnosis and rationing of diagnostic testing. Given that SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA has demonstrated stability, we posited that phosphate buffered saline (PBS) may be a viable transport medium, as an alternative to VTM), for clinical qPCR testing. We assessed the intra- and inter-individual reliability of SARS-CoV-2 qPCR in clinical endotracheal secretion samples transported in VTM or PBS, evaluating the stability of the RT-qPCR signal for three viral targets (N gene, ORF1ab, and S gene) when samples were stored in these media at room temperature for up to 18 hours.
Source: Journal of Molecular Diagnostics - Category: Pathology Authors: Tags: Regular Article Source Type: research