A four specimen-pooling scheme reliably detects SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses using the BioFire FilmArray Respiratory Panel 2.1.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic required increased testing capacity, enabling rapid case identification and effective contract tracing to reduce transmission of disease. The BioFire FilmArray is a fully automated nucleic acid amplification test system providing specificity and sensitivity associated with gold standard molecular methods. The FilmArray Respiratory Panel 2.1 targets 22 viral and bacterial pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus. While each panel provides a robust output of information regarding pathogen detection, the specimen throughput is low. This study evaluates the FilmArray Respiratory Panel 2.1 using 33 pools of contrived nasal samples and 22 pools of clinical nasopharyngeal specimens to determine the feasibility of increasing testing capacity, while maintaining dete

SUBMITTER: Ranadheera C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8942994 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature