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Laxton CS, Peno C, Hahn AM, Allicock OM, Perniciaro S, Wyllie AL. The potential of saliva as an accessible and sensitive sample type for the detection of respiratory pathogens and host immunity. THE LANCET. MICROBE 2023; 4:e837-e850. [PMID: 37516121 DOI: 10.1016/s2666-5247(23)00135-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
Despite its prominence in early scientific records, the usefulness of saliva as a respiratory specimen has been de-emphasised over the past century. However, due to its low cost and reliance on specific supply chains and the non-invasive nature of its collection, its benefits over swab-based specimens are again becoming increasingly recognised. These benefits were highlighted over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, where saliva emerged as a more practical, clinically non-inferior sample type for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 and saw numerous saliva-based diagnostic tests approved for clinical use. Looking forward, as saliva uniquely contains both respiratory secretions and immunological components, it has potentially wide applications, ranging from clinical diagnostics to post-vaccine disease burden and immunity surveillance. This Personal View seeks to summarise the existing evidence for the use of saliva in detecting respiratory pathogens, beyond SARS-CoV-2, as well as detailing methodological factors that can influence sample quality and thus, clinical utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire S Laxton
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Chikondi Peno
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Anne M Hahn
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Orchid M Allicock
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Stephanie Perniciaro
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Anne L Wyllie
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.
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Kwambana-Adams BA, Clark SA, Tay N, Agbla S, Chaguza C, Kagucia EW, Borrow R, Heyderman RS. Evaluation of Dried Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Filter Paper Spots for Storing and Transporting Clinical Material for the Molecular Diagnosis of Invasive Meningococcal Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231911879. [PMID: 36233182 PMCID: PMC9569512 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231911879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
To improve the storage and transport of clinical specimens for the diagnosis of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) infections in resource-limited settings, we have evaluated the performance of dried blood spot (DBS) and dried cerebrospinal fluid spot (DCS) assays. DBS and DCS were prepared on filter paper from liquid specimens previously tested for Nm in the United Kingdom. Nm was detected and genogrouped by real-time PCR performed on crude genomic DNA extracted from the DBS (n = 226) and DCS (n = 226) specimens. Targeted whole-genome sequencing was performed on a subset of specimens, DBS (n = 4) and DCS (n = 6). The overall agreement between the analysis of liquid and dried specimens was (94.2%; 95% CI 90.8−96.7) for blood and (96.4%; 95% CI 93.5−98.0) for cerebrospinal fluid. Relative to liquid specimens as the reference, the DBS and DCS assays had sensitivities of (89.1%; 95% CI 82.7−93.8) and (94.2%; 95% CI 88.9−97.5), respectively, and both assays had specificities above 98%. A genogroup was identified by dried specimen analysis for 81.9% of the confirmed meningococcal infections. Near full-length Nm genome sequences (>86%) were obtained for all ten specimens tested which allowed determination of the sequence type, clonal complex, presence of antimicrobial resistance and other meningococcal genotyping. Dried blood and CSF filter spot assays offer a practical alternative to liquid specimens for the molecular and genomic characterisation of invasive meningococcal diseases in low-resource settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda A. Kwambana-Adams
- NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Mucosal Pathogens, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Clinical Sciences Department, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
- Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Clinical Research Programme (MLW), Blantyre P.O. Box 30096, Malawi
- Correspondence: (B.A.K.-A.); (S.A.C.)
| | - Stephen A. Clark
- Meningococcal Reference Unit, United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Manchester M13 9WL, UK
- Correspondence: (B.A.K.-A.); (S.A.C.)
| | - Nicole Tay
- NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Mucosal Pathogens, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Schadrac Agbla
- Department of Health Data Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GF, UK
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Chrispin Chaguza
- NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Mucosal Pathogens, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Eunice W. Kagucia
- Department of Epidemiology and Demography, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi P.O. Box 230-8010, Kenya
| | - Ray Borrow
- Meningococcal Reference Unit, United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Manchester M13 9WL, UK
| | - Robert S. Heyderman
- NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Mucosal Pathogens, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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