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Bouska O, Koudelakova V, Gurska S, Kubanova K, Slavkovsky R, Jaworek H, Vrbkova J, Dzubak P, Hajduch M. Pooling of samples to optimise SARS-CoV-2 detection in nasopharyngeal swabs and gargle lavage self-samples for covid-19 diagnostics and surveillance. Infect Dis (Lond) 2024; 56:531-542. [PMID: 38549542 DOI: 10.1080/23744235.2024.2333438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Testing of pooled samples is an effective strategy for increasing testing capacity while saving resources and time. This study aimed to validate pooled testing and gather real-life data on its use for Covid-19 surveillance with a gargle lavage (GL) self-sampling strategy. METHODS Two-stage pooled testing with pools of 6 and 12 samples was used for preventive testing of an asymptomatic population and Covid-19 surveillance in Czech schools. Both GL and nasopharyngeal swabs were used for sampling. RESULTS In total, 61,111 samples were tested. The use of pooled testing for large-scale Covid-19 surveillance reduced consumable costs by almost 75% and increased testing capacity up to 3.8-fold compared to standard methods. RT-PCR experiments revealed a minimal loss of sensitivity (0-2.2%) when using pooled samples, enabling the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genes with Ct values >35. The minor loss of sensitivity was counterbalanced by a significantly increased throughput and the ability to substantially increase testing frequencies. CONCLUSIONS Pooled testing is considerably more cost-effective and less time-consuming than standard testing for large-scale Covid-19 surveillance even when the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 is fluctuating. Gargle lavage self-sampling is a non-invasive technique suitable for sample collection without a healthcare worker's assistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondrej Bouska
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimira Koudelakova
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Laboratory of Experimental Medicine, University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Sona Gurska
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Katerina Kubanova
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Rastislav Slavkovsky
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Jaworek
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Laboratory of Experimental Medicine, University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Vrbkova
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Dzubak
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Marian Hajduch
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Laboratory of Experimental Medicine, University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
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Lenart C, Prager M, Sachs M, Steininger C, Fernandes C, Thannesberger J. Tackling Vaccine Hesitancy and Increasing Vaccine Willingness Among Parents of Unvaccinated Children in Austria. Int J Public Health 2023; 68:1606042. [PMID: 37701049 PMCID: PMC10493290 DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1606042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives: In autumn 2021, there was a surge of COVID-19 infections in Austria, and vaccination coverage stagnated at a below-average level compared to the rest of Europe. Surveys showed that both children and adolescents were the main drivers of the rising infection rates and that vaccination numbers were particularly low in this age group. This was due to widespread vaccination skepticism and hesitancy among parents of unvaccinated children and adolescents. Methods: Here, we describe a novel intervention concept that allowed us to efficiently tackle parental vaccine hesitancy. We designed an intervention series that followed a reproducible format based on online face-to-face seminars in groups of a maximum of twenty people. Each seminar included an anonymous online questionnaire for internal quality control. Moreover, we assessed the motives of parental vaccine hesitancy and asked participants to rate subjective vaccine willingness for their children on a scale of zero to ten. Results: Within 8 weeks, more than 580 people participated in the seminar series. We found that concerns about the side effects of the vaccine were the predominant motive of vaccination hesitancy among the study population. Overall, the intervention could successfully increase the median parental vaccination willingness of participants from a score of five to eight. We identified tree hesitancy motives (distrust towards the pharmaceutical industry, the government, or feelings of restriction from personal freedom) that were associated with below-average vaccination willingness and significant lower increase. Conclusion: With this study we analyzed motives driving COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy among parents of unvaccinated children and reasons of parents to restrain their children from getting vaccinated. The intervention method described here, could effectively address individual concerns on a personal level while at the same time reach a large number of people across geographical and language barriers. Thereby we could significantly increase subjective vaccination willingness of the participants. Our approach is easy to apply, highly cost-effective, and can be used to tackle any kind of medical misinformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Lenart
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine 1, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Clinic Hietzing, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marlene Prager
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Clinic Donaustadt, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marlene Sachs
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Clinic Donaustadt, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Steininger
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine 1, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Jakob Thannesberger
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine 1, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Guo L, Zhao P, Jia Y, Li T, Huang L, Wang Z, Liu D, Hou Z, Zhao Y, Zhang L, Li H, Kong Y, Li J, Wang X, Rong M. Efficient inactivation of the contamination with pathogenic microorganisms by a combination of water spray and plasma-activated air. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 446:130686. [PMID: 36610342 PMCID: PMC9796360 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has lasted two and a half years and the infections caused by the viral contamination are still occurring. Developing efficient disinfection technology is crucial for the current epidemic or infectious diseases caused by other pathogenic microorganisms. Gas plasma can efficiently inactivate different microorganisms, therefore, in this study, a combination of water spray and plasma-activated air was established for the disinfection of pathogenic microorganisms. The combined treatment efficiently inactivated the Omicron-pseudovirus through caused the nitration modification of the spike proteins and also the pathogenic bacteria. The combined treatment was improved with a funnel-shaped nozzle to form a temporary relatively sealed environment for the treatment of the contaminated area. The improved device could efficiently inactivate the Omicron-pseudovirus and bacteria on the surface of different materials including quartz, metal, leather, plastic, and cardboard and the particle size of the water spray did not affect the inactivation effects. This study supplied a disinfection strategy based on plasma-activated air for the inactivation of contaminated pathogenic microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Pengyu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Yikang Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Tianhui Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Lingling Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Zifeng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Dingxin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China.
| | - Zhanwu Hou
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Yizhen Zhao
- Department of Applied Physics, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Department of Applied Physics, School of Physics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Hua Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Yu Kong
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Juntang Li
- Research Centre for Occupation and Environment Medicine, Collaborative Innovation Centre for Medical Equipment, Key Laboratory of Biological Damage Effect and Protection, Luoyang 471031, PR China.
| | - Xiaohua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
| | - Mingzhe Rong
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center for Plasma Biomedicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, PR China
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Nairz M, Todorovic T, Gehrer CM, Grubwieser P, Burkert F, Zimmermann M, Trattnig K, Klotz W, Theurl I, Bellmann-Weiler R, Weiss G. Single-Center Experience in Detecting Influenza Virus, RSV and SARS-CoV-2 at the Emergency Department. Viruses 2023; 15:v15020470. [PMID: 36851685 PMCID: PMC9958692 DOI: 10.3390/v15020470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on respiratory tract swabs has become the gold standard for sensitive and specific detection of influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this retrospective analysis, we report on the successive implementation and routine use of multiplex RT-PCR testing for patients admitted to the Internal Medicine Emergency Department (ED) at a tertiary care center in Western Austria, one of the hotspots in the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Europe. Our description focuses on the use of the Cepheid® Xpert® Xpress closed RT-PCR system in point-of-care testing (POCT). Our indications for RT-PCR testing changed during the observation period: From the cold season 2016/2017 until the cold season 2019/2020, we used RT-PCR to diagnose influenza or RSV infection in patients with fever and/or respiratory symptoms. Starting in March 2020, we used the RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 and a multiplex version for the combined detection of all these three respiratory viruses to also screen subjects who did not present with symptoms of infection but needed in-hospital medical treatment for other reasons. Expectedly, the switch to a more liberal RT-PCR test strategy resulted in a substantial increase in the number of tests. Nevertheless, we observed an immediate decline in influenza virus and RSV detections in early 2020 that coincided with public SARS-CoV-2 containment measures. In contrast, the extensive use of the combined RT-PCR test enabled us to monitor the re-emergence of influenza and RSV detections, including asymptomatic cases, at the end of 2022 when COVID-19 containment measures were no longer in place. Our analysis of PCR results for respiratory viruses from a real-life setting at an ED provides valuable information on the epidemiology of those infections over several years, their contribution to morbidity and need for hospital admission, the risk for nosocomial introduction of such infection into hospitals from asymptomatic carriers, and guidance as to how general precautions and prophylactic strategies affect the dynamics of those infections.
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Vera-Lise I, Dominik E, Elisabeth R, Kerstin H, Raffael F, Angelika X, Tibor A, Jusztina B, Ursula K, Jochen H, David K, John-Hendrik J. "Rapid reinfections with different or same Omicron SARS-CoV-2 sub-variants". J Infect 2022; 85:e96-e98. [PMID: 35810939 PMCID: PMC9262643 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2022.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ihm Vera-Lise
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `Epidemic Prevention`, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Ensle Dominik
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `Data-Competence Center Center, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Reiter Elisabeth
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `Epidemic Doctor`, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Huber Kerstin
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `Epidemic Prevention`, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Förster Raffael
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `Data-Competence Center, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Xaver Angelika
- Vienna Department for Economic Affairs, Labour, Statistics - MA 23, Meiereistraße 7, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Aßheuer Tibor
- Vienna Department for Economic Affairs, Labour, Statistics - MA 23, Meiereistraße 7, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Barna Jusztina
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `Data-Competence Center`, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Karnthaler Ursula
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `State Health Director`, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Haidvogel Jochen
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `Head of Department`, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Kirsch David
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services `Head of Data-Competence Center`, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jordan John-Hendrik
- Municipal Department 15 - Public Health Services ` Head of Epidemic Prevention`, Thomas-Klestil-Platz 8, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
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