A blueprint for the implementation of a validated approach for the detection of SARS-Cov2 in clinical samples in academic facilities

Wellcome Open Research

article

Sushmita Sridhar¹  Sally Forrest¹  Iain Kean¹  Jamie Young³  Josefin Bartholdson Scott¹  Mailis Maes¹  Joana Pereira-Dias¹  Surendra Parmar⁴  Matthew Routledge⁵  Dominic Sparkes⁵  Lucy Rivett⁵  Gordon Dougan¹  Michael Weekes⁵  Martin Curran⁴  Ian Goodfellow⁶  Stephen Baker¹ 

[1] Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease ,(CITIID), Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge;Wellcome Sanger Institute;Department of Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge;Public Health England Diagnostic Laboratory, Addenbrooke's Hospital;Infectious Diseases, Addenbrooke's Hospital;Division of Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge

关键词: COVID-19;    SARS-Cov2;    diagnostic PCR;    qPCR;    sample workflow;    validation;   

DOI  :  10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15937.2

学科分类：内科医学

来源: Wellcome

【 摘 要 】

The COVID-19 pandemic is expanding at an unprecedented rate. As a result, diagnostic services are stretched to their limit, and there is a clear need for the provision of additional diagnostic capacity. Academic laboratories, many of which are closed due to governmental lockdowns, may be in a position to support local screening capacity by adapting their current laboratory practices. Here, we describe the process of developing a SARS-Cov2 diagnostic workflow in a conventional academic Containment Level 2 laboratory. Our outline includes simple SARS-Cov2 deactivation upon contact, the method for a quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR detecting SARS-Cov2, a description of process establishment and validation, and some considerations for establishing a similar workflow elsewhere. This was achieved under challenging circumstances through the collaborative efforts of scientists, clinical staff, and diagnostic staff to mitigate to the ongoing crisis. Within 14 days, we created a validated COVID-19 diagnostics service for healthcare workers in our local hospital. The described methods are not exhaustive, but we hope may offer support to other academic groups aiming to set up something comparable in a short time frame.

【 授权许可】

CC BY