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: Jared Radbel, Sugeet Jagpal, Jason Roy, Andrew Brooks, Jay Tischfield, Michael Sheldon, Christian Bixby, Dana Witt, Maria Laura Gennaro, Daniel B. Horton, Emily S. Barrett, Jeffrey L. Carson, Reynold A. Panettieri, Martin J. Blaser Tags: Regular Article Source Type: research