Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 during the Pandemic by Multiplex RT-rPCR hCoV Test: Future Perspectives
Alessio Danilo Inchingolo,
Ciro Isacco Gargiulo,
Giuseppina Malcangi,
Anna Maria Ciocia,
Assunta Patano,
Daniela Azzollini,
Fabio Piras,
Giuseppe Barile,
Vito Settanni,
Antonio Mancini,
Grazia Garofoli,
Giulia Palmieri,
Chiara Di Pede,
Biagio Rapone,
Angelo Michele Inchingolo,
Megan Jones,
Alberto Corriero,
Nicola Brienza,
Antonio Parisi,
Angelica Bianco,
Loredana Capozzi,
Laura Del Sambro,
Domenico Simone,
Ioana Roxana Bordea,
Gianluca Martino Tartaglia,
Antonio Scarano,
Felice Lorusso,
Luigi Macchia,
Giovanni Migliore,
Van Hung Pham,
Gianna Dipalma,
Francesco Inchingolo
Affiliations
Alessio Danilo Inchingolo
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Ciro Isacco Gargiulo
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Giuseppina Malcangi
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Anna Maria Ciocia
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Assunta Patano
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Daniela Azzollini
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Fabio Piras
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Giuseppe Barile
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Vito Settanni
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Antonio Mancini
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Grazia Garofoli
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Giulia Palmieri
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Chiara Di Pede
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Biagio Rapone
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Angelo Michele Inchingolo
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Megan Jones
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Alberto Corriero
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine—Intensive Care Unit Section, Aldo Moro University, 70121 Bari, Italy
Nicola Brienza
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine—Intensive Care Unit Section, Aldo Moro University, 70121 Bari, Italy
Antonio Parisi
Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata, 71121 Foggia, Italy
Angelica Bianco
Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata, 71121 Foggia, Italy
Loredana Capozzi
Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata, 71121 Foggia, Italy
Laura Del Sambro
Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata, 71121 Foggia, Italy
Domenico Simone
Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata, 71121 Foggia, Italy
Ioana Roxana Bordea
Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Gianluca Martino Tartaglia
UOC Maxillo-Facial Surgery and Dentistry, Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, Fondazione IRCCS Ca Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan, 20100 Milan, Italy
Antonio Scarano
Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine and Dentistry, University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Felice Lorusso
Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine and Dentistry, University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Luigi Macchia
Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (D.E.T.O.), University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Giovanni Migliore
Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Bari, 70100 Bari, Italy
Van Hung Pham
Department of Microbiology, Phan Chau Trinh University, Danang City 550000, Vietnam
Gianna Dipalma
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Francesco Inchingolo
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Dental Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly become a significant threat to public health. However, among the Coronaviridae family members, there are other viruses that can also cause infections in humans. Among these, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) have posed significant threats to human health in the past. Other human pathogenic coronaviruses have been identified, and they are known to cause respiratory diseases with manifestations ranging from mild to severe. In this study, we evaluated the performance of a multiplex RT-rPCR specific to seven human pathogenic coronaviruses in mainly detecting SARS-CoV-2 directly from nasopharyngeal swabs obtained from suspected COVID-19 infected patients, while simultaneously detecting different human pathogenic coronaviruses in case these were also present. We tested 1195 clinical samples suspected of COVID-19 infection. The assay identified that 69% of the samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (1195), which was confirmed using another SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR kit available in our laboratory. None of these clinical samples were positive for SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV or HCoV. This means that during the endemic phase of COVID-19, infection with other human pathogenic coronaviruses, even the common cold coronavirus (HCoV), is very uncommon. Our study also confirmed that the multiplex RT-rPCR is a sensitive assay for detecting SARS-CoV-2 regardless of differences among the variants. This multiplex RT-rPCR is also time- and cost-saving and very easy to apply in the diagnostic laboratory due to its simple procedure and its stability in storage after preparation. These features make the assay a valuable approach in screening procedures for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 and other human pathogenic coronaviruses that could affect public health.