Objectives The accurate detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential for the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We compared the quantitative RT-PCR results between nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva specimens. Methods A COVID-19 outbreak occurred on a cruise ship at Nagasaki port, Japan. We obtained 123 nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva each from asymptomatic or mild patients in the late phase of infection. Results The intervals from the diagnosis to the sampling were 25.5 days for nasopharyngeal swabs and 28.9 days for saliva. The positive rate was 19.5% (24/123) for nasopharyngeal swabs and 38.2% (47/123) for saliva ( P = 0.48). The quantified viral copies (mean ± SEM copies/5 μl) were 9.3±2.6 in nasopharyngeal swabs and 920±850 in saliva ( P = 0.0006). Conclusions The advantages of saliva specimens include positive rate improvement and accurate viral load detection. Saliva may be used as a reliable sample for SARS-CoV-2 detection.
【초록키워드】 COVID-19, coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, Saliva, Coronavirus disease 2019, Infection, Diagnosis, RT-PCR, Severe acute respiratory syndrome, Nasopharyngeal swab, SARS-CoV-2 detection, Viral, Asymptomatic, COVID-19 outbreak, Viral load, nasopharyngeal swabs, Japan, sampling, respiratory, Quantitative, positive rate, SEM, Cruise ship, acute respiratory syndrome, Quantitative RT-PCR, late phase, intervals, asymptomatic or mild patients, saliva specimens, objective, Result, occurred, include, interval, quantified, mild patient, Nagasaki, saliva specimen, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, qRT-PCR, detection, Analysis, mild COVID-19 patients, nasopharyngeal sample,