Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

November 13, 2020

Validation and Testing of a Method for Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Healthy Human Stool

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  • [Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An assay designed to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stool based upon a modified version of the CDC rRT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 test. Using stool samples from health individuals spiked with inactivated SAR-CoV-2 virus, the lower limit of detection (LoD) of the assay was found to be 3,000 viral RNA copies per gram of original stool sample. Thirty contrived SARS-CoV-2 samples were tested by a second laboratory and were correctly identified as positive or negative in at least one of two rounds of testing. Samples from individuals with COVID-19 were also tested, and the assay was able to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 3 of the 5 samples.

Coryell et al. (Nov 12, 2020). Validation and Testing of a Method for Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Healthy Human Stool. MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.09.20228601