Real-world SARS CoV-2 testing in Northern England during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Hamzah Z. Farooq; Emma Davies; Benjamin Brown; Thomas Whitfield; Peter Tilston; Ashley McEwan; Andrew Birtles; Robert O'Hara; Hannah Spencer; Louise Hesketh; Shazaad Ahmad; Malcolm Guiver; Nicholas Machin

doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2021.04.013

Real-world SARS CoV-2 testing in Northern England during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Hamzah Z. Farooq^*, Emma Davies, Benjamin Brown, Thomas Whitfield, Peter Tilston, Ashley McEwan, Andrew Birtles, Robert O'Hara, Hannah Spencer, Louise Hesketh, Shazaad Ahmad, Malcolm Guiver, Nicholas Machin

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 emerged in South Asia in 2019 and has resulted in a global pandemic. Public Health England (PHE) Manchester rapidly escalated testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the highest COVID-19 incidence location in England. The results of the PHE Manchester SARS-CoV-2 surveillance during the first wave are presented.

Methods: Retrospective data were collected for patients fitting the PHE SARS-CoV-2 case definition from 11th February to 31st August 2020. Respiratory tract, tissue, faecal, fluid and cerebrospinal (CSF) samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by a semi-quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR.

Results: Of the 204,083 tests for SARS-CoV-2, 18,011 were positive demonstrating a positivity of 8.90%. Highest positivity was in nasal swabs (20.99%) followed by broncheo-alveolar lavage samples (12.50%). None of the faecal, fluid or CSF samples received were positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Conclusions: There was a high incidence of SARS-CoV-2 patients in the North-West of England during the first UK wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Highest positivity rate was in nasal specimens suggesting this is the optimum sample type within this dataset for detecting SARS-CoV-2. Further studies are warranted to assess the utility of testing faecal, fluid and CSF samples. Rapid escalation of testing via multiple platforms was required to ensure prompt diagnosis and isolate infected cases to reduce transmission of the virus.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	84-91
Number of pages	8
Journal	Journal of Infection
Volume	83
Issue number	1
Early online date	20 Apr 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.04.013
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We wish to acknowledge the contributions of the staff of the Public Health England Manchester laboratory.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

Keywords

COVID-19
Novel coronavirus
Public health
SARS CoV-2

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.jinf.2021.04.013

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title = "Real-world SARS CoV-2 testing in Northern England during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic",

abstract = "Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 emerged in South Asia in 2019 and has resulted in a global pandemic. Public Health England (PHE) Manchester rapidly escalated testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the highest COVID-19 incidence location in England. The results of the PHE Manchester SARS-CoV-2 surveillance during the first wave are presented.Methods: Retrospective data were collected for patients fitting the PHE SARS-CoV-2 case definition from 11th February to 31st August 2020. Respiratory tract, tissue, faecal, fluid and cerebrospinal (CSF) samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by a semi-quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR.Results: Of the 204,083 tests for SARS-CoV-2, 18,011 were positive demonstrating a positivity of 8.90%. Highest positivity was in nasal swabs (20.99%) followed by broncheo-alveolar lavage samples (12.50%). None of the faecal, fluid or CSF samples received were positive for SARS-CoV-2.Conclusions: There was a high incidence of SARS-CoV-2 patients in the North-West of England during the first UK wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Highest positivity rate was in nasal specimens suggesting this is the optimum sample type within this dataset for detecting SARS-CoV-2. Further studies are warranted to assess the utility of testing faecal, fluid and CSF samples. Rapid escalation of testing via multiple platforms was required to ensure prompt diagnosis and isolate infected cases to reduce transmission of the virus.",

keywords = "COVID-19, Novel coronavirus, Public health, SARS CoV-2",

author = "Farooq, {Hamzah Z.} and Emma Davies and Benjamin Brown and Thomas Whitfield and Peter Tilston and Ashley McEwan and Andrew Birtles and Robert O'Hara and Hannah Spencer and Louise Hesketh and Shazaad Ahmad and Malcolm Guiver and Nicholas Machin",

note = "Funding Information: We wish to acknowledge the contributions of the staff of the Public Health England Manchester laboratory. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jinf.2021.04.013",

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T1 - Real-world SARS CoV-2 testing in Northern England during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

AU - Farooq, Hamzah Z.

AU - Davies, Emma

AU - Brown, Benjamin

AU - Whitfield, Thomas

AU - Tilston, Peter

AU - McEwan, Ashley

AU - Birtles, Andrew

AU - O'Hara, Robert

AU - Spencer, Hannah

AU - Hesketh, Louise

AU - Ahmad, Shazaad

AU - Guiver, Malcolm

AU - Machin, Nicholas

PY - 2021/7/1

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N2 - Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 emerged in South Asia in 2019 and has resulted in a global pandemic. Public Health England (PHE) Manchester rapidly escalated testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the highest COVID-19 incidence location in England. The results of the PHE Manchester SARS-CoV-2 surveillance during the first wave are presented.Methods: Retrospective data were collected for patients fitting the PHE SARS-CoV-2 case definition from 11th February to 31st August 2020. Respiratory tract, tissue, faecal, fluid and cerebrospinal (CSF) samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by a semi-quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR.Results: Of the 204,083 tests for SARS-CoV-2, 18,011 were positive demonstrating a positivity of 8.90%. Highest positivity was in nasal swabs (20.99%) followed by broncheo-alveolar lavage samples (12.50%). None of the faecal, fluid or CSF samples received were positive for SARS-CoV-2.Conclusions: There was a high incidence of SARS-CoV-2 patients in the North-West of England during the first UK wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Highest positivity rate was in nasal specimens suggesting this is the optimum sample type within this dataset for detecting SARS-CoV-2. Further studies are warranted to assess the utility of testing faecal, fluid and CSF samples. Rapid escalation of testing via multiple platforms was required to ensure prompt diagnosis and isolate infected cases to reduce transmission of the virus.

AB - Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 emerged in South Asia in 2019 and has resulted in a global pandemic. Public Health England (PHE) Manchester rapidly escalated testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the highest COVID-19 incidence location in England. The results of the PHE Manchester SARS-CoV-2 surveillance during the first wave are presented.Methods: Retrospective data were collected for patients fitting the PHE SARS-CoV-2 case definition from 11th February to 31st August 2020. Respiratory tract, tissue, faecal, fluid and cerebrospinal (CSF) samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by a semi-quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR.Results: Of the 204,083 tests for SARS-CoV-2, 18,011 were positive demonstrating a positivity of 8.90%. Highest positivity was in nasal swabs (20.99%) followed by broncheo-alveolar lavage samples (12.50%). None of the faecal, fluid or CSF samples received were positive for SARS-CoV-2.Conclusions: There was a high incidence of SARS-CoV-2 patients in the North-West of England during the first UK wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Highest positivity rate was in nasal specimens suggesting this is the optimum sample type within this dataset for detecting SARS-CoV-2. Further studies are warranted to assess the utility of testing faecal, fluid and CSF samples. Rapid escalation of testing via multiple platforms was required to ensure prompt diagnosis and isolate infected cases to reduce transmission of the virus.

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KW - Novel coronavirus

KW - Public health

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SN - 0163-4453

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SP - 84

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JO - Journal of Infection

JF - Journal of Infection

IS - 1

ER -

Real-world SARS CoV-2 testing in Northern England during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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