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COVID-19 Diagnostics: The Challenge of Rapid, High-Volume Detection of SARS-CoV2

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Air date: Wednesday, April 29, 2020, 3:00:00 PM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
Views: Total views: 2,824 (1,657 Live, 1,167 On-demand)
Category: COVID-19
Runtime: 01:00:05
Description: NIH COVID-19 SIG Lecture Series

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, detection of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, followed by contact tracing and quarantine, has been critical to slow the spread of disease. After discovery, the coronavirus was sequenced extremely rapidly, and multiple RT-PCR assays were quickly developed and the details shared for use by laboratories worldwide. The molecular assays have excellent performance characteristics with very high sensitivity and specificity. In the United States, the assay designed by the CDC and granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA was adopted across the country. In addition, many academic laboratories and commercial manufacturers designed different versions of SARS-CoV-2 tests. The unprecedented need for testing resulted in a severe shortage of all reagents and supplies including collection swabs, transport media, extraction kits, and RT-PCR enzyme mixtures. Creative solutions such as the 3D printing of swabs resulted. A number of studies are underway to determine which specimens (nasopharyngeal, nasal, oropharyngeal, or saliva) are acceptable for testing. Studies that examine viral load from exposure to the end of the disease course are critical for characterizing this sometimes-fatal disease as we work to find treatments. As we develop an algorithm to move out of "stay-at-home lockdown," there is a scramble to develop a high-quality serological assay that would detect neutralizing antibodies.
Author: Karen Frank, M.D., Ph.D., Chief, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, NIH
 
CIT Live ID: 37377
Permanent link: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=37377