Nationwide Harmonization Effort for Semi-Quantitative Reporting of SARS-CoV-2 PCR Test Results in Belgium.

From early 2020, a high demand for SARS-CoV-2 tests was driven by several testing indications, including asymptomatic cases, resulting in the massive roll-out of PCR assays to combat the pandemic. Considering the dynamic of viral shedding during the course of infection, the demand to report cycle threshold (Ct) values rapidly emerged. As Ct values can be affected by a number of factors, we considered that harmonization of semi-quantitative PCR results across laboratories would avoid potential divergent interpretations, particularly in the absence of clinical or serological information.

Evolution of human papilloma virus prevalence in a highly vaccinated region in Belgium: a retrospective cohort study in Flemish women (2010-2019).

Objective: In order to lower the incidence of cervical cancer, vaccines against high-risk types of the human papilloma virus (hrHPV) were approved and brought on the market in 2007, with a partial reimbursement for Belgian citizens younger than 18 years old. Since 2010, a school-based vaccination program ensures a high vaccination coverage in young women. In this study, the impact of the Belgian vaccination program on the prevalence of HPV 16/18 is studied, together with the evolution of the prevalence of other hrHPV types and precancerous lesions.

Comparison of the QuantiFERON-TB® Gold Plus on LIAISON® XL and T-SPOT.TB for the diagnosis of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a low tuberculosis incidence population.

The current study compared the QuantiFERON-TB® Gold Plus on LIAISON® XL to the T-SPOT.TB for the diagnosis of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection on 125 patient samples. A high agreement of qualitative results (90%) was observed between both methods with 3% major discrepancies, half of which were false negative results with the T-SPOT.

Performance of the FREND™ COVID-19 IgG/IgM Duo point-of-care test for SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection.

Purpose: In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, multiple serological assays for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immune response are currently being developed. This study compares the FREND COVID-19 IgG/IgM Duo (NanoEntec) a point of care (POCT) assay with the automated Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2 electrochemiluminescent assay (Roche Diagnostics).

Methods: Serum samples ( = 81) from PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive patients at different time points after the onset of symptoms were analyzed with both assays.

Performance of three automated SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays and relevance of orthogonal testing algorithms.

Objectives: Development and implementation of SARS-CoV-2 serologic assays gained momentum. Laboratories keep on investigating the performance of these assays. In this study, we compared three fully automated SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays.