S-variant SARS-CoV-2 lineage B1.1.7 is associated with significantly higher viral loads in samples tested by ThermoFisher TaqPath RT-qPCR

M Kidd; A Richter; A Best; N Cumley; J Mirza; B Percival; M Mayhew; O Megram; F Ashford; T White; E Moles-Garcia; L Crawford; A Bosworth; SF Atabani; Tim Plant; A McNally

doi:10.1093/infdis/jiab082

S-variant SARS-CoV-2 lineage B1.1.7 is associated with significantly higher viral loads in samples tested by ThermoFisher TaqPath RT-qPCR

M Kidd, A Richter, A Best, N Cumley, J Mirza, B Percival, M Mayhew, O Megram, F Ashford, T White, E Moles-Garcia, L Crawford, A Bosworth, SF Atabani, Tim Plant, A McNally

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

A SARS-CoV-2 variant B1.1.7 containing a mutation Δ69/70 has spread rapidly in the UK and shows an identifiable profile in ThermoFisher TaqPath RTqPCR (S-gene target failure; SGTF). We analysed recent test data for trends and significance. Linked Ct values for respiratory samples showed that a low Ct for ORF1ab and N were clearly associated with SGTF. Significantly more SGTF samples had higher inferred viral loads between 1x10 ⁷ and 1x10 ⁸. Our conclusion is that patients whose samples exhibit the SGTF profile are more likely to have high viral loads, which may explain higher infectivity and rapidity of spread.

Original language	English
Journal	The Journal of Infectious Diseases
Early online date	13 Feb 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab082
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 13 Feb 2021

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
RT-PCR
TaqPath
viral load
Ct values
Δ69/70
S-variant
B.1.1.7
VUI-202012/01
SGTF
S-gene dropout

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Kidd, M., Richter, A., Best, A., Cumley, N., Mirza, J., Percival, B., Mayhew, M., Megram, O., Ashford, F., White, T., Moles-Garcia, E., Crawford, L., Bosworth, A., Atabani, SF., Plant, T., & McNally, A. (2021). S-variant SARS-CoV-2 lineage B1.1.7 is associated with significantly higher viral loads in samples tested by ThermoFisher TaqPath RT-qPCR. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab082

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title = "S-variant SARS-CoV-2 lineage B1.1.7 is associated with significantly higher viral loads in samples tested by ThermoFisher TaqPath RT-qPCR",

abstract = "A SARS-CoV-2 variant B1.1.7 containing a mutation Δ69/70 has spread rapidly in the UK and shows an identifiable profile in ThermoFisher TaqPath RTqPCR (S-gene target failure; SGTF). We analysed recent test data for trends and significance. Linked Ct values for respiratory samples showed that a low Ct for ORF1ab and N were clearly associated with SGTF. Significantly more SGTF samples had higher inferred viral loads between 1x10 7 and 1x10 8. Our conclusion is that patients whose samples exhibit the SGTF profile are more likely to have high viral loads, which may explain higher infectivity and rapidity of spread.",

keywords = "SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, RT-PCR, TaqPath, viral load, Ct values, Δ69/70, S-variant, B.1.1.7, VUI-202012/01, SGTF, S-gene dropout",

author = "M Kidd and A Richter and A Best and N Cumley and J Mirza and B Percival and M Mayhew and O Megram and F Ashford and T White and E Moles-Garcia and L Crawford and A Bosworth and SF Atabani and Tim Plant and A McNally",

note = "{\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.",

year = "2021",

month = feb,

day = "13",

doi = "10.1093/infdis/jiab082",

language = "English",

journal = "The Journal of Infectious Diseases",

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Kidd, M, Richter, A, Best, A, Cumley, N, Mirza, J, Percival, B, Mayhew, M, Megram, O, Ashford, F, White, T, Moles-Garcia, E, Crawford, L, Bosworth, A, Atabani, SF, Plant, T & McNally, A 2021, 'S-variant SARS-CoV-2 lineage B1.1.7 is associated with significantly higher viral loads in samples tested by ThermoFisher TaqPath RT-qPCR', The Journal of Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab082

TY - JOUR

T1 - S-variant SARS-CoV-2 lineage B1.1.7 is associated with significantly higher viral loads in samples tested by ThermoFisher TaqPath RT-qPCR

AU - Kidd, M

AU - Richter, A

AU - Best, A

AU - Cumley, N

AU - Mirza, J

AU - Percival, B

AU - Mayhew, M

AU - Megram, O

AU - Ashford, F

AU - White, T

AU - Moles-Garcia, E

AU - Crawford, L

AU - Bosworth, A

AU - Atabani, SF

AU - Plant, Tim

AU - McNally, A

PY - 2021/2/13

Y1 - 2021/2/13

N2 - A SARS-CoV-2 variant B1.1.7 containing a mutation Δ69/70 has spread rapidly in the UK and shows an identifiable profile in ThermoFisher TaqPath RTqPCR (S-gene target failure; SGTF). We analysed recent test data for trends and significance. Linked Ct values for respiratory samples showed that a low Ct for ORF1ab and N were clearly associated with SGTF. Significantly more SGTF samples had higher inferred viral loads between 1x10 7 and 1x10 8. Our conclusion is that patients whose samples exhibit the SGTF profile are more likely to have high viral loads, which may explain higher infectivity and rapidity of spread.

AB - A SARS-CoV-2 variant B1.1.7 containing a mutation Δ69/70 has spread rapidly in the UK and shows an identifiable profile in ThermoFisher TaqPath RTqPCR (S-gene target failure; SGTF). We analysed recent test data for trends and significance. Linked Ct values for respiratory samples showed that a low Ct for ORF1ab and N were clearly associated with SGTF. Significantly more SGTF samples had higher inferred viral loads between 1x10 7 and 1x10 8. Our conclusion is that patients whose samples exhibit the SGTF profile are more likely to have high viral loads, which may explain higher infectivity and rapidity of spread.

KW - SARS-CoV-2

KW - COVID-19

KW - RT-PCR

KW - TaqPath

KW - viral load

KW - Ct values

KW - Δ69/70

KW - S-variant

KW - B.1.1.7

KW - VUI-202012/01

KW - SGTF

KW - S-gene dropout

UR - http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/33580259

U2 - 10.1093/infdis/jiab082

DO - 10.1093/infdis/jiab082

M3 - Article

C2 - 33580259

SN - 0022-1899

JO - The Journal of Infectious Diseases

JF - The Journal of Infectious Diseases

ER -

S-variant SARS-CoV-2 lineage B1.1.7 is associated with significantly higher viral loads in samples tested by ThermoFisher TaqPath RT-qPCR

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Keywords

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