COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020
COVID-19 pandemic is a dramatic health, social and economic global challenge. There is urgent need to maximize testing capacity. Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) represent good candidates for point-of-care and mass surveillance testing to rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2-infected people, counterbalancing lower...
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doaj-e70a5fb8342a4373a890a8489a95c7912021-03-14T00:04:06ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2021-03-011142542510.3390/biom11030425COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020Francesca Colavita0Francesco Vairo1Silvia Meschi2Maria Beatrice Valli3Eleonora Lalle4Concetta Castilletti5Danilo Fusco6Giuseppe Spiga7Pierluigi Bartoletti8Simona Ursino9Maurizio Sanguinetti10Antonino Di Caro11Francesco Vaia12Giuseppe Ippolito13Maria Rosaria Capobianchi14National Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyLazio Regional Health Service, 00145 Rome, ItalyLazio Regional Health Service, 00145 Rome, ItalyRegional Special Unit for Community Health Care (USCAR), National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyLocal Health Authority-Roma 4, Civitavecchia, 00153 Rome, ItalyFondazione Policlinico Universitario “A. Gemelli” IRCCS, 00168 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyNational Institute for Infectious Diseases, “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyCOVID-19 pandemic is a dramatic health, social and economic global challenge. There is urgent need to maximize testing capacity. Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) represent good candidates for point-of-care and mass surveillance testing to rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2-infected people, counterbalancing lower sensitivity vs. gold standard molecular tests with fast results and possible recurrent testing. We describe the results obtained with the testing algorithm implemented at points of entry (airports and ports) in the Lazio Region (Italy), using the STANDARD F COVID-19 Antigen Fluorescence ImmunoAssay (FIA), followed by molecular confirmation of FIA-positive samples. From mid-August to mid-October 2020, 73,643 RAT were reported to the Regional Surveillance Information System for travelers at points of entry in Lazio Region. Of these, 1176 (1.6%) were FIA-positive, and the proportion of RT-PCR-confirmed samples was 40.5%. Our data show that the probability of confirmation was directly dependent from the semi-quantitative FIA results. In addition, the molecularly confirmed samples were those with high levels of virus and that were actually harboring infectious virus. These results support public health strategies based on early mass screening campaigns by RAT in settings where molecular testing is not feasible or easily accessible, such as points of entry. This approach would contribute to promptly controlling viral spread through travel, which is now of particular concern due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/3/425SARS-CoV-2rapid antigen testpoint of entryItaly |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Francesca Colavita Francesco Vairo Silvia Meschi Maria Beatrice Valli Eleonora Lalle Concetta Castilletti Danilo Fusco Giuseppe Spiga Pierluigi Bartoletti Simona Ursino Maurizio Sanguinetti Antonino Di Caro Francesco Vaia Giuseppe Ippolito Maria Rosaria Capobianchi |
spellingShingle |
Francesca Colavita Francesco Vairo Silvia Meschi Maria Beatrice Valli Eleonora Lalle Concetta Castilletti Danilo Fusco Giuseppe Spiga Pierluigi Bartoletti Simona Ursino Maurizio Sanguinetti Antonino Di Caro Francesco Vaia Giuseppe Ippolito Maria Rosaria Capobianchi COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020 Biomolecules SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test point of entry Italy |
author_facet |
Francesca Colavita Francesco Vairo Silvia Meschi Maria Beatrice Valli Eleonora Lalle Concetta Castilletti Danilo Fusco Giuseppe Spiga Pierluigi Bartoletti Simona Ursino Maurizio Sanguinetti Antonino Di Caro Francesco Vaia Giuseppe Ippolito Maria Rosaria Capobianchi |
author_sort |
Francesca Colavita |
title |
COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020 |
title_short |
COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020 |
title_full |
COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020 |
title_fullStr |
COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020 |
title_full_unstemmed |
COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020 |
title_sort |
covid-19 rapid antigen test as screening strategy at points of entry: experience in lazio region, central italy, august–october 2020 |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Biomolecules |
issn |
2218-273X |
publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
description |
COVID-19 pandemic is a dramatic health, social and economic global challenge. There is urgent need to maximize testing capacity. Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) represent good candidates for point-of-care and mass surveillance testing to rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2-infected people, counterbalancing lower sensitivity vs. gold standard molecular tests with fast results and possible recurrent testing. We describe the results obtained with the testing algorithm implemented at points of entry (airports and ports) in the Lazio Region (Italy), using the STANDARD F COVID-19 Antigen Fluorescence ImmunoAssay (FIA), followed by molecular confirmation of FIA-positive samples. From mid-August to mid-October 2020, 73,643 RAT were reported to the Regional Surveillance Information System for travelers at points of entry in Lazio Region. Of these, 1176 (1.6%) were FIA-positive, and the proportion of RT-PCR-confirmed samples was 40.5%. Our data show that the probability of confirmation was directly dependent from the semi-quantitative FIA results. In addition, the molecularly confirmed samples were those with high levels of virus and that were actually harboring infectious virus. These results support public health strategies based on early mass screening campaigns by RAT in settings where molecular testing is not feasible or easily accessible, such as points of entry. This approach would contribute to promptly controlling viral spread through travel, which is now of particular concern due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants. |
topic |
SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test point of entry Italy |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/3/425 |
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