Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

August 31, 2020

Saliva or Nasopharyngeal Swab Specimens for Detection of SARS-CoV-2

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  • Wyllie et al. found that self-collected saliva specimens have similar sensitivity to clinician-collected nasopharyngeal specimens for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 during hospitalization. At 1 to 5 days after diagnosis by RT-PCR testing on nasopharyngeal swabs (n=70), 81% of the saliva samples were positive, compared to 71% of the nasopharyngeal swab samples.

Wyllie et al. (Aug 28, 2020). Saliva or Nasopharyngeal Swab Specimens for Detection of SARS-CoV-2. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2016359