COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus first detected in China at the end of 2019. The RNA virus causes the disease now referred to as COVID-19 which, as of January 30, 2020, has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. The virus, with origins being hosted in bats, was transmitted to humans through suspected animal-to-human contact in a seafood and live animal market in the Wuhan province of China. Since the initial transmission, the virus has now spread person-to-person as well as community spread (origin of infection is unknown). As of today, the most at-risk populations are older adults, with risk increasing by age, as well as people with underlying health conditions, immunocompromised individuals, and those with serious chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease.

Physicians assess patients based on CDC recommendations and use their best clinical judgment in deciding whether the patient should be tested given their presenting symptoms. However, lack of available diagnostic tests have been causing hesitancy in ordering. In response to this immediate need, Personalized Pediatrics Laboratories is pleased to offer a high-throughput qPCR assay to meet these needs.

Sample collection is completed with a nasopharyngeal swab. A healthcare professional inserts a long swab in a nostril to collect the fluid in the back of the nose, and then the sample is subject to the Personalized Pediatrics Laboratories Covid-19 assay. The assay is a laboratory developed test (LDT) that utilizes a proprietary selection of vendor supplied collection kits, extraction and assay reagents, and qPCR primer/probes. The flexibility provided by using an LDT allows Personalized Pediatrics Laboratories to offer significantly higher throughput without sacrificing the integrity of the specimen. Optimized sensitivity results in more accurate detection during the acute phase of infection and better control of comorbidities that may have resulted from potential false negatives. Turn-around-time is expected to be 6-8 hours from receipt at the lab.