Real-world SARS CoV-2 testing in Northern England during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objectives SARS-CoV-2 emerged in South Asia in 2019 and has resulted in a global pandemic. Public Health England (PHE) Manchester rapidly escalated testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the highest COVID-19 incidence location in England. The results of the PHE Manchester SARS-CoV-2 surveillance during the first wave are presented. Methods Retrospective data were collected for patients fitting the PHE SARS-CoV-2 case definition from 11th February to 31st August 2020. Respiratory tract, tissue, faecal, fluid and cerebrospinal (CSF) samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by a semi-quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR. Results Of the 204,083 tests for SARS-CoV-2, 18,011 were positive demonstrating a positivity of 8.90%. Highest positivity was in nasal swabs (20.99%) followed by broncheo-alveolar lavage samples (12.50%). None of the faecal, fluid or CSF samples received were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions There was a high incidence of SARS-CoV-2 patients in the North-West of England during the first UK wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Highest positivity rate was in nasal specimens suggesting this is the optimum sample type within this dataset for detecting SARS-CoV-2. Further studies are warranted to assess the utility of testing faecal, fluid and CSF samples. Rapid escalation of testing via multiple platforms was required to ensure prompt diagnosis and isolate infected cases to reduce transmission of the virus.

Reconstruction of the origin of the first major SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Germany

“…Since then, the virus has spread through all continents, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic. While the first SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks occurred in most countries in major cities including Milan [2] , Manchester [3] or Chicago [4] or high-density traffic hubs [5] , [6] , [7] , the first outbreak in Germany happened in Heinsberg , a small relatively unknown town with little to no tourism [8] . After a carnival session where a super-spread occurred, it was reported that about 3.1% of the local population was PCR positive [8] .…”

Effect of Covid-19 pandemic on gender associated with risk factors: a retrospective data analysis, Thailand

“…In comparison with the second wave, the proportion of local clusters (24.8% vs. 45.7%) was lower in the third wave, and personal contact transmissions (38.5% vs. 25.9%) and unknown routes of transmission (23.5% vs. 20.8%) were higher [5]. Consequently, many governments and health authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO), have been actively educating people to take preventive measures to reduce the spread of the virus, including lockdown measures [6,7,8].…”

Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…More recently, a neuropathological study found evidence of viral RNA and/or protein in the brains of 53% of autopsied COVID-19 patients; however, it is important to highlight that this study analyzed only patients who died, and thus, results are probably not generalizable to less severe cases of infection ( Matschke et al, 2020 ). In fact, a systematic search of the literature revealed that in COVID-19 patients, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in only 6.4% of those who underwent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) PCR testing, which is likely still not representative of patients with mild infection ( Farooq et al, 2021 ; Li et al, 2021 ). Nonetheless, autopsies of COVID-19 patients revealed uniform presentation of neuroimmune pathology, including microglial activation and cytotoxic T lymphocyte infiltration in the brainstem and cerebellum.…”