COVID (Jul 2023)

Extraction-Free RT-PCR Surveillance Testing and Reporting for SARS-CoV-2

  • Patrick R. Carney,
  • Tyler Duellman,
  • Jia-Yi Chan,
  • Lauren Wells,
  • Michael Tessmer,
  • Leah Frater-Rubsam,
  • Molly Zeller,
  • Mark Field,
  • James Speers,
  • Kelly Tyrrell,
  • Luke Thompson,
  • Michael Bondurant,
  • Tami Morin,
  • Tamra Dagnon,
  • Brian Goff,
  • Corissa Runde,
  • Sandra Splinter-Bondurant,
  • Charles Konsitzke,
  • Patrick Kelly,
  • Christopher A. Bradfield,
  • Joshua Hyman

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/covid3070075
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 7
pp. 1031 – 1041

Abstract

Read online

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated sensitive, fast, and inexpensive testing for the virus in 2020 prior to the widespread availability of vaccines. Early testing efforts were limited by bottlenecks on reagents, low-throughput testing options, and the slow return of test results. In this paper, we detail the testing pipeline we established at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for rapid, inexpensive, and sensitive surveillance testing for SARS-CoV-2, and we highlight the strengths of the platform that would allow it to be applied to other disease surveillance projects, SARS-CoV-2 variant testing, or future pandemics. This pipeline can be quickly established for further accreditation and clinical application.

Keywords