Opportunities for Enhanced Public Health Surveillance via Molecular Detection and Sequencing of Diverse Respiratory Viruses From Self-collected SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Swabs

Kat Schmidt; Simon D Pollett; Stephanie A Richard; Vivian Hogan; Emily Hone; Jennifer Rothenberg; Rezalina Tant; Michele Wayman; Chantele Friend; Kamala Thapa; Lola Ulomi; Julian Davies; Amber Michel; Timothy H Burgess; Robert J O'Connell; Mark P Simons; Drake H Tilley; Anthony C Fries; Rhonda E Colombo

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae447

Opportunities for Enhanced Public Health Surveillance via Molecular Detection and Sequencing of Diverse Respiratory Viruses From Self-collected SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Swabs

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Aug 10;11(8):ofae447. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae447. eCollection 2024 Aug.

Authors

Kat Schmidt^{1

2}, Simon D Pollett^{1

2}, Stephanie A Richard^{1

2}, Vivian Hogan^{1

2}, Emily Hone^{1

2}, Jennifer Rothenberg^{1

2}, Rezalina Tant^{1

2}, Michele Wayman^{1

2}, Chantele Friend^{1

2}, Kamala Thapa^{1

2}, Lola Ulomi^{1

2}, Julian Davies^{1

2}, Amber Michel^{1

2}, Timothy H Burgess¹, Robert J O'Connell¹, Mark P Simons¹, Drake H Tilley³, Anthony C Fries⁴, Rhonda E Colombo^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program, Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
² The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
³ Naval Health Clinic Annapolis, Annapolis, Maryland, USA.
⁴ United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, USA.

Abstract

We sequenced and genotyped severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza, adenovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus, among other pathogens, from residual anterior nasal swabs self-collected for rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing at the US Naval Academy. This is a key proof-of-concept for an acute respiratory infection surveillance approach, which could leverage prevalent SARS-CoV-2 antigen self-testing.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; human influenza; public health surveillance; respiratory tract infection; whole-genome sequencing.

Grants and funding

Y01 AI005072/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States