Surveillance of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Testing in Clinical Laboratories in Korea
Annals of Laboratory Medicine 2021³â 41±Ç 2È£ p.225 ~ p.229
ÇãÈñÀç(Huh Hee-Jae) - Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine Samsung Medical Center Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics
È«±âÈ£(Hong Ki-Ho) - Seoul Medical Center Department of Laboratory Medicine
±èÅüö(Kim Taek-Soo) - Seoul National University College of Medicine Department of Laboratory Medicine
¼Û»óÈÆ(Song Sang-Hoon) - Seoul National University College of Medicine Department of Laboratory Medicine
³ë°æÈ£(Roh Kyoung-Ho) - National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital Department of Laboratory Medicine
ÀÌÇõ¹Î(Lee Hyuk-Min) - Yonsei University College of Medicine Department of Laboratory Medicine
±Ç°èö(Kwon Gye-Cheol) - Chungnam National University College of Medicine Department of Laboratory Medicine
Abstract
In response to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an online laboratory surveillance system was established to monitor severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) real-time reverse transcription-PCR (rRT-PCR) testing capacities and results. SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR testing data were collected from 97 clinical laboratories, including 84 medical institutions and 13 independent clinical laboratories in Korea. We assessed the testing capacities to utilize SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR based on surveillance data obtained from February 7th to June 4th, 2020 and evaluated positive result characteristics according to the reagents used and sample types. A total of 1,890,319 SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR testing were performed, 2.3% of which were positive. Strong correlations were observed between the envelope (E) gene and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp)/nucleocapsid (N) genes threshold cycle (Ct) values for each reagent. No statistically significant differences in gene Ct values were observed between the paired upper and lower respiratory tract samples, except in the N gene for nasopharyngeal swab and sputum samples. Our study showed that clinical laboratories in Korea have rapidly expanded their testing capacities in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, with a peak daily capacity of 34,193 tests. Rapid expansion in testing capacity is a critical component of the national response to the ongoing pandemic.
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Coronavirus disease 2019, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, Real-time RT-PCR, Laboratory surveillance, Testing capacity, Ct value
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Strong correlations were observed between the envelope (E) gene and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp)/nucleocapsid (N) genes threshold cycle (Ct) values for each reagent. No statistically significant differences in gene Ct values were observed between the paired upper and lower respiratory tract samples, except in the N gene for nasopharyngeal swab and sputum samples.