Evaluation of a quantitative RT-PCR assay for the detection of the emerging coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 using a high throughput system

• Published in: Euro surveillance : bulletin européen sur les maladies transmissibles Vol. 25; no. 9
• Main Authors: Pfefferle, Susanne, Reucher, Svenja, Nörz, Dominic, Lütgehetmann, Marc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sweden European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) 05.03.2020
• Subjects: Betacoronavirus; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - diagnosis; COVID-19; COVID-19 Testing; Humans; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral; Rapid Communication; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; SARS Virus; SARS-CoV-2; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; COVID-19; molecular diagnostic; SARS-CoV-2; automation; high-throughput PCR
• ISSN: 1560-7917; 1025-496X; 1560-7917
• DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.9.2000152

Facing the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), high-volume respiratory testing is demanded in laboratories worldwide. We evaluated the performance of a molecular assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 on a high-throughput platform, the cobas 6800, using the ‘open channel’ for integration of a laboratory-developed assay. We observed good analytical performance in clinical specimens. The fully automated workflow enables high-throughput testing with minimal hands-on time, while offering fast and reliable results.