October 23, 2020

Frequency and Duration of SARS-CoV-2 Shedding in Oral Fluid Samples Assessed by a Modified Commercial Rapid Molecular Assay

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

Keywords (Tags): testing, transmission

• A study using the Simplexa COVID-19 Direct assays on oral fluid found that the assay had high sensitivity and specificity to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Simplexa COVID-19 Direct is a rapid assay platform that does not require additional equipment. The assay was used to test oral fluids and nasopharyngeal swab specimens collected in parallel from 164 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Parallel testing of the oral and nasopharyngeal samples indicated highly concordant results (κ = 0.83) and high correlation of viral load values. Viral RNA shedding was also observed up to 100 days from symptom onset, with 32% and 29% positivity observed in oral and nasopharyngeal samples, respectively, collected between 60 and 100 days from symptom onset.

Bordi et al. (Oct 20, 2020). Frequency and Duration of SARS-CoV-2 Shedding in Oral Fluid Samples Assessed by a Modified Commercial Rapid Molecular Assay. Viruses. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12101184