Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
Center for Global Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO.
Am J Infect Control. 2022 Aug;50(8):890-897. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.01.010.
SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019 and resulted in a pandemic causing millions of infections worldwide. Gold-standard for SARS-CoV-2 detection uses quantitative RT-qPCR on respiratory secretions to detect viral RNA (vRNA). Acquiring these samples is invasive, can be painful for those with xerostomia and other health conditions, and sample quality can vary greatly. Frequently only symptomatic individuals are tested even though asymptomatic individuals can have comparable viral loads and efficiently transmit virus.
We utilized a non-invasive approach to detect SARS-CoV-2 in individuals, using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) strips embedded in KN95 masks. PVA strips were tested for SARS-CoV-2 vRNA via qRT-PCR and infectious virus.
We show efficient recovery of vRNA and infectious virus from virus-spiked PVA with detection limits comparable to nasal swab samples. In infected individuals, we detect both human and SARS-CoV-2 RNA on PVA strips, however, these levels are not correlated with length of time mask was worn, number of times coughed or sneezed, or level of virus in nasal swab samples. We successfully cultured and deep-sequenced PVA-associated virus.
These results demonstrate the feasibility of using PVA-embedded masks as a non-invasive platform for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in exhaled air in COVID-positive individuals regardless of symptom status.
SARS-CoV-2 于 2019 年出现,导致了全球范围内数以百万计的感染。SARS-CoV-2 检测的金标准是使用呼吸道分泌物进行定量 RT-qPCR 检测病毒 RNA(vRNA)。采集这些样本具有侵入性,对于口干和其他健康状况的人来说可能会很痛苦,而且样本质量差异很大。尽管无症状个体的病毒载量相当且具有高效传播病毒的能力,但通常只有有症状的个体接受检测。
我们利用一种非侵入性方法,使用嵌入 KN95 口罩中的聚乙烯醇(PVA)条来检测个体中的 SARS-CoV-2。通过 qRT-PCR 和传染性病毒检测 PVA 条中的 SARS-CoV-2 vRNA 和感染性病毒。
我们展示了从病毒接种 PVA 中高效回收 vRNA 和感染性病毒,检测限与鼻拭子样本相当。在感染个体中,我们在 PVA 条上检测到人类和 SARS-CoV-2 RNA,但这些水平与口罩佩戴时间长短、咳嗽或打喷嚏次数以及鼻拭子样本中的病毒水平无关。我们成功地对 PVA 相关病毒进行了培养和深度测序。
这些结果表明,无论症状状态如何,使用嵌入 PVA 的口罩作为 COVID-19 阳性个体呼出空气中检测 SARS-CoV-2 的非侵入性平台是可行的。