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Comment
. 2020 Mar;25(9):2000152.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.9.2000152.

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

Affiliations
Comment

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

Susanne Pfefferle et al. Euro Surveill. 2020 Mar.

Erratum in

  • Authors' correction for Euro Surveill. 2020;25(9).
    Eurosurveillance editorial team. Eurosurveillance editorial team. Euro Surveill. 2020 Mar;25(10):20200312c. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.10.20200312c. Euro Surveill. 2020. PMID: 32183936 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; automation; high-throughput PCR; molecular diagnostic.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: ML received speaker honoraria and related travel expenses from Roche Diagnostics. All other authors had no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example for amplification curves of the SARS-CoV-2-UCT SARS-CoV-2 Utility Channel test
Figure 2
Figure 2
Determination of limit of detection of the SARS-CoV-2 Utility Channel test based on in-vitro transcribed RNA

Comment on

  • Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR.
    Corman VM, Landt O, Kaiser M, Molenkamp R, Meijer A, Chu DK, Bleicker T, Brünink S, Schneider J, Schmidt ML, Mulders DG, Haagmans BL, van der Veer B, van den Brink S, Wijsman L, Goderski G, Romette JL, Ellis J, Zambon M, Peiris M, Goossens H, Reusken C, Koopmans MP, Drosten C. Corman VM, et al. Euro Surveill. 2020 Jan;25(3):2000045. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.3.2000045. Euro Surveill. 2020. PMID: 31992387 Free PMC article.

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