Testing individual and pooled saliva samples for sars-cov-2 nucleic acid: a prospective study.
Marion Migueres, Camille Vellas, Florence Abravanel, Isabelle Da Silva, Chloé Dimeglio, Venicia Ferrer, Stéphanie Raymond, Jean-Michel Mansuy, Jacques Izopet
Author Information
Marion Migueres: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France; Institut Toulousain des Maladies Infectieuses et Inflammatoires (Infinity), INSERM UMR1291 - CNRS UMR5051, Toulouse, France; Department of Virology, Université Toulouse III Paul-Sabatier, Toulouse, France. Electronic address: migueres.m@chu-toulouse.fr.
Camille Vellas: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France; Institut Toulousain des Maladies Infectieuses et Inflammatoires (Infinity), INSERM UMR1291 - CNRS UMR5051, Toulouse, France; Department of Virology, Université Toulouse III Paul-Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Florence Abravanel: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France; Institut Toulousain des Maladies Infectieuses et Inflammatoires (Infinity), INSERM UMR1291 - CNRS UMR5051, Toulouse, France; Department of Virology, Université Toulouse III Paul-Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Isabelle Da Silva: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France.
Chloé Dimeglio: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France.
Venicia Ferrer: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France.
Stéphanie Raymond: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France; Institut Toulousain des Maladies Infectieuses et Inflammatoires (Infinity), INSERM UMR1291 - CNRS UMR5051, Toulouse, France; Department of Virology, Université Toulouse III Paul-Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Jean-Michel Mansuy: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France.
Jacques Izopet: CHU Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Virology Laboratory, France; Institut Toulousain des Maladies Infectieuses et Inflammatoires (Infinity), INSERM UMR1291 - CNRS UMR5051, Toulouse, France; Department of Virology, Université Toulouse III Paul-Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Control of the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus requires efficient testing. We collected paired nasopharyngeal swab (NPs) and saliva samples from 303 subjects (52.8% symptomatic) at a drive-through testing center; 18% of whom tested positive. The NPs, salivas and five saliva pools were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA using the Aptima™ assay and a laboratory-developed test (LDT) on the Panther-Fusion™ Hologic® platform. The saliva sensitivity was 80% (LDT) and 87.5% (Aptima™) whereas that of NPs was 96.4% in both assays. The pooled saliva sensitivity of 72.7% (LDT) and 75% (Aptima™) was not significantly different of that of individual saliva testing. Saliva specimens appear to be suitable for sensitive non-invasive assays to detect SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid; pooling them for a single test will improve laboratory throughput.
