Publications by authors named "Kate Buist"
Unlabelled: Clinical trials of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) therapeutics often include virological secondary endpoints to compare viral clearance and viral load reduction between treatment and placebo arms. This is typically achieved using quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-qPCR), which cannot differentiate replicant competent virus from non-viable virus or free RNA, limiting its utility as an endpoint. Culture-based methods for SARS-CoV-2 exist; however, these are often insensitive and poorly standardized for use as clinical trial endpoints.
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- Rapid antibody testing can help assess immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and identify eligible patients for certain therapies.
- The study evaluated eight different brands of lateral flow tests (LFTs) using blood samples from 95 vaccinated individuals to check their ability to detect vaccination-induced antibodies.
- All participants showed positive anti-spike antibodies after their second vaccine dose, with many LFTs showing increased sensitivity, making them a promising low-cost alternative to more complex testing methods.
Background: The emergence of variants of concern (VOCs) requires an ongoing assessment of the performance of antigen lateral flow tests (Ag-RDTs). The limit of detection (LOD) of 32 Ag-RDTs was evaluated using the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Gamma variant.
Methods: Ag-RDTs were performed according to the manufacturer's instructions with a clinical isolate of the Gamma variant.
The importance of human saliva in aerosol-based transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is now widely recognized. However, little is known about the efficacy of virucidal mouthwash formulations against emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and in the presence of saliva. Mouthwashes containing virucidal actives will have similar inactivation effects against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and will retain efficacy in the presence of human saliva.
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- The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased use of antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDT), but their performance varies widely among manufacturers, highlighting the need for evaluation of their limits of detection (LOD).
- This study evaluated the LOD of 19 Ag-RDTs using live SARS-CoV-2 samples in different conditions, including culture media and swabs stored at -80°C.
- Fourteen Ag-RDTs met World Health Organization criteria for acceptable LOD, while six were incompatible with certain media and many showed reduced sensitivity after storage, providing important data for future test selection and evaluations.