Analysis of Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 viruses, including influenza viruses, to determine the influence of intensive preventive measures in Japan

Abstract

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Comparison of automated SARS-CoV-2 antigen test for COVID-19 infection with quantitative RT-PCR using 313 nasopharyngeal swabs, including from seven serially followed patients

“…Total nucleic acid was automatically isolated from nasopharyngeal swabs using the MagMAX Viral/Pathogen Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) on the KingFisher Duo Prime System (Thermo Fisher Scientific), as previously described ( Hirotsu et al, 2020b , Hirotsu et al, 2020c ). Briefly, we added 200 μL viral transport media, 5 μL proteinase K, 265 μL binding solution, 10 μL total nucleic acid-binding beads, 0.5 mL wash buffer, and 0.5–1 mL 80% ethanol to each well of a deep-well 96-well plate.…”

Pooling RT-qPCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 in 1000 individuals of healthy and infection-suspected patients

“…The RT-qPCR assays were conducted on a StepOnePlus Real-Time PCR Systems machine (Thermo Fisher Scientific) with the following cycling conditions: 50 °C for 5 min for reverse transcription, 95 °C for 20 s, and 45 cycles of 95 °C for 3 s and 60 °C for 30 s 24 , 25 . The threshold line was set at 0.2.…”

Letter of concern re: “Analysis of Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 viruses, including influenza viruses, to determine the influence of intensive preventive measures in Japan. J. Clin. Virol. 2020; 129: 104543. doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104543”

“…We read with great interest the paper by Hirotsu et al [ 1 ], showing that, among 191 patients exhibiting cold-like symptoms during the period 10 March – 7 May 2020 in Japan, 8/191 (4 %) were infected with SARS-CoV-2, while 32/191 (17 %) with other respiratory viruses; among the 7 viral species detected, the most represented were Human Rhinovirus/Enterovirus (n = 11), while influenza A and B viruses were not detected at all. The Authors infer that the use of surgical mask to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection had the favourable impact of substantially stopping influenza circulation.…”