We aimed to test the sensitivity of naso-oropharyngeal saliva and self-administered nasal (SN) swab compared to nasopharyngeal (NP) swab for COVID-19 testing in a large cohort of migrant workers in Singapore. We also tested the utility of next-generation sequencing (NGS) for diagnosis of COVID-19. Saliva, NP and SN swabs were collected from subjects who presented with acute respiratory infection, their asymptomatic roommates, and prior confirmed cases who were undergoing isolation at a community care facility in June 2020. All samples were tested using RT-PCR. SARS-CoV-2 amplicon-based NGS with phylogenetic analysis was done for 30 samples. We recruited 200 subjects, of which 91 and 46 were tested twice and thrice respectively. In total, 62.0%, 44.5%, and 37.7% of saliva, NP and SN samples were positive. Cycle threshold (Ct) values were lower during the earlier period of infection across all sample types. The percentage of test-positive saliva was higher than NP and SN swabs. We found a strong correlation between viral genome coverage by NGS and Ct values for SARS-CoV-2. Phylogenetic analyses revealed Clade O and lineage B.6 known to be circulating in Singapore. We found saliva to be a sensitive and viable sample for COVID-19 diagnosis.
【저자키워드】 viral infection, Diagnosis, 【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Saliva, NGS, Infection, nasal, RT-PCR, sensitivity, Phylogenetic analysis, COVID-19 testing, Viral, Asymptomatic, cycle threshold, nasopharyngeal, Next-generation sequencing, swabs, COVID-19 diagnosis, Lineage, Isolation, Community, Acute respiratory infection, large cohort, Swab, phylogenetic analyses, Singapore, respiratory, correlation, threshold, utility, Care, Analysis, viral genome, Ct values, community care, migrant workers, confirmed case, cycle, subject, circulating, positive, viral genome coverage, tested, collected, recruited, subjects, was done, B.6, diagnosis of COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 Asymptomatic, COVID-19 infection, nasopharyngeal, Mild, nasal swab,