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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.03.28.013508

SARS-CoV-2 detection from nasopharyngeal swab samples without RNA extraction

Beltran-Pavez, C.·Marquez, C. L.·Munoz, G.·Valiente-Echeverria, F.·Gaggero, A.·Soto-Rifo, R.·Barriga, G. P.
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Abstract

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has reached more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Given the large requirement of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and considering that RNA extraction kits are in short supply, we investigated whether two commercial RT-qPCR kits were compatible with direct SARS-CoV-2 detection from nasopharyngeal swab samples. We show that one of the tested kits is fully compatible with direct SARS-CoV-2 detection suggesting that omission of an RNA extraction step should be considered in SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis.

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Beltran-Pavez, C., Marquez, C. L., Munoz, G., Valiente-Echeverria, F., Gaggero, A., Soto-Rifo, R., Barriga, G. P.. 2020-03-30. SARS-CoV-2 detection from nasopharyngeal swab samples without RNA extraction. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.28.013508

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