A combined oropharyngeal/nares swab is a suitable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

Jason J. LeBlanc, Charles Heinstein, Jimmy MacDonald, Janice Pettipas, Todd F. Hatchette, Glenn Patriquin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

64 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Given the global shortage of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs typically used for respiratory virus detection, alternative collection methods were evaluated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study showed that a combined oropharyngeal/nares swab is a suitable alternative to NP swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, with sensitivities of 91.7% and 94.4%, respectively.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104442
JournalJournal of Clinical Virology
Volume128
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors are indebted to the public health nurses and epidemiologists at the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, who facilitated the collection of swabs and provided the epidemiological data for this manuscript. The authors would also like to thank the members of the Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), who were instrumental for sample processing and laboratory testing.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s)

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Virology
  • Infectious Diseases

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