New recommended policies for pathogen surveillance testing of researchers and improved stewardship of diagnostic DNA (original) (raw)
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Forensic Science International: Genetics, 2020
Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre-including this research content-immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.
Advances in Infectious Diseases, 2021
Rapid and accurate laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for the management of COVID-19 patients and control of the spread of the virus. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh had only one government molecular laboratory where real-time RT-PCR would be performed to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection. With the increasing number of suspected cases requiring confirmation diagnostic testing, there is a requirement to expand capacity for large-scale testing quickly. The government of Bangladesh established over 100 molecular laboratories within one year to test COVID-19. To expand the testing capacity, the government was compelled to recruit laboratory staff with limited experience and technical expertise, especially in molecular assays, to process specimens, interpret results, troubleshoot. As a result, the risk of diagnostic errors, such as cross-contamination, increased, potentially undermining the efficacy of public health policies, public health response, surveillance programs, and restrictive measures aimed toward containing the outbreak. In this piece, we discuss the different sources of crosscontamination in the COVID-19 RT-PCR laboratories and proffer practical How to cite this paper:
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine
Background: Molecular detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is at the forefront of the global response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, molecular diagnostic capabilities are poorly developed in many African countries. Efforts by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and other public health agencies to scale up facilities for molecular testing across the continent are well documented, but there are few accounts from the laboratories at the frontline.Intervention: As part of an institutional response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria, signed a memorandum of understanding with a World Bank-supported institution to obtain a non-proprietary testing platform, renovated an existing molecular virology laboratory and validated the test process to make SARS-CoV-2 testing readily available for decision-making by frontline health workers. These efforts resulted in the Univers...
A mobile DNA laboratory for forensic science adapted to coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
The Forensic Science Institute of the French "Gendarmerie Nationale" (IRCGN™) developed in 2015 an ISO 17025 certified mobile DNA laboratory for genetic analyses. This Mobil'DNA laboratory is a fully autonomous and adaptable mobile laboratory to perform genetic analyses in the context of crime scenes, terrorism attacks or disasters. To support the hospital task force in Paris during the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic, we adapted this mobile genetic laboratory to perform high-throughput molecular screening for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by real-time PCR. We describe the adaptation of this Mobil'DNA lab to assist in Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis.
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The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic urged immense testing capacities as one cornerstone of infection control. Many institutions opened outpatient SARS-CoV-2 test centers to allow large number of tests in comparatively short time frames. With increasing positive test rates, concerns for a possible airborne or droplet contamination of specimens leading to false-positive results were raised. In our experimental series performed in a dedicated SARS-CoV-2 test center, 40 open collection tubes placed for defined time periods in proximity to individuals were found to be SARS-CoV-2 negative. These findings argue against false-positive SARS-CoV-2 results due to droplet or airborne contamination.
Amplicon contamination in labs masquerades as COVID19 in surveillance tests
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A cohort of laboratorians with positive SARS-CoV2 test results were uncovered during asymptomatic COVID-19 screening programs at six universities. Follow-up PCR and antibody tests showed that most of these cases were not true COVID-19 infection but instead arose from reverse-transcribed and amplified viral sequences (amplicons) that are generated during research. Environmental testing showed widespread contamination of amplicons in lab spaces including notebooks, keyboards, glasses, and doorknobs. Minimizing instances of amplicon contamination and developing protocols for handling suspected cases are critical to propel research efforts and to avoid diverting university and healthcare resources from patients with COVID-19. Removal of these individuals from the standard testing protocol, per CDC guidelines for positive cases, risks the spread of true infection. We discuss potential prevention and mitigation strategies.
Archives of Virology, 2022
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) amplicon contamination was discovered due to next-generation sequencing (NGS) reads mapping in the negative controls. Environmental screening was undertaken to determine the source of contamination, which was suspected to be evaporation during polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays while using the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ARTIC protocol. A decontamination strategy is hereby documented to assist laboratories that may experience similar amplicon contamination. Routine molecular laboratory environmental screening as a quality control is highly recommended.