SARS-CoV-2 Positivity using Closed System RT-PCR at a Tertiary Care Medical Institute in Manipur, India

Abstract

Introduction: Rapid cost effective, Point-of-Care (PoC) TrueNat assay for the diagnosis of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been developed to shorten the Turn Around Time (TAT) of reporting with a wireless data transfer system. Aim: To explore the SARS-CoV-2 positivity using closed system Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Materials and Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out in Molecular Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur, India, using TrueNat RT-PCR (Molbio diagnostics) and data was entered from May 2020 to April 2021. Manufacturer’s literature was followed while performing the test. Screening of sample was done with Envelope (E) gene test and confirmed with RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene (RdRP) gene test. Statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Excel sheet by calculating the percentage, proportions. Results: A total of 1,528 individuals were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and 73 tests were reported positive. The positivity rate by age was highest among 21-30 years. The positivity rate was higher among males than females. Among 1,105 asymptomatic individual, 27 (2.4%) were positive and among 423 symptomatic, 46 (10.9%) were positive. Conclusion: Using TrueNat, positivity rate among symptomatic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) suspected persons was about four times more than positivity rate among exposed contact persons who are asymptomatic.

Keywords

• coronavirus disease 2019
• point-of-care
• reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction
• severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2