Implementing the Lolli-Method and pooled RT-qPCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in schools: a pilot project

Implementing the Lolli-Method and pooled RT-qPCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in schools: a pilot project

Purpose School closures have been used as part of lockdown strategies to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, adversely affecting children’s health and education. To ensure the accessibility of educational institutions without exposing society to the risk of increased transmissions, it is essential to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infection Vol. 51; no. 2; pp. 459 - 464
Main Authors: Kretschmer, Alina Chloé, Junker, Lena, Dewald, Felix, Linne, Viktoria, Hennen, Lea, Horemheb-Rubio, Gibran, Kaiser, Rolf, Steger, Gertrud, Joachim, Alexander, Schönenkorb, Jana, Cosgun, Zülfü Cem, Mühlhans, Neslihan, Heger, Eva, Knops, Elena, Leisse, Charlotte, Kessel, Barbora, Heinsohn, Torben, Rodiah, Isti, Lange, Berit, Ritter, Anne Lena, Fries, Mira, Kossow, Annelene, Nießen, Johannes, Dötsch, Jörg, Klein, Florian, Rybniker, Jan, Fätkenheuer, Gerd, Suárez, Isabelle
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-04-2023
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Acceptance tests
Brief Report
Communicable Disease Control
COVID-19
COVID-19 - diagnosis
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 Testing
Family Medicine
Feasibility
General Practice
Humans
Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Pilot Projects
Saliva
SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 - genetics
Schools
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Surveillance
COVID-19
Pooled testing
SARS-CoV-2
School
RT-qPCR
Lolli-Method
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Summary:Purpose School closures have been used as part of lockdown strategies to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, adversely affecting children’s health and education. To ensure the accessibility of educational institutions without exposing society to the risk of increased transmissions, it is essential to establish SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies that are child-friendly, scalable and implementable in a daily school routine. Self-sampling using non-invasive saliva swabs combined with pooled RT-qPCR testing (Lolli-Method) has been proven to be a sensitive method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. Methods We conducted a pilot project in Cologne, Germany, designed to determine the feasibility of a large-scale rollout of the Lolli-Method for testing without any additional on-site medical staff in schools. Over a period of three weeks, students from 22 schools were sampled using the Lolli-Method. At the end of the project, teachers were asked to evaluate the overall acceptance of the project. Results We analyzed a total of 757 pooled RT-qPCRs obtained from 8,287 individual swabs and detected 7 SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. The Lolli-Method was shown to be a feasible and accepted testing strategy whose application is only slightly disruptive to the daily school routine. Conclusion Our observations suggest that the Lolli-Method in combination with pooled RT-qPCR can be implemented for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in daily school routine, applicable on a large scale.
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ISSN:0300-8126
1439-0973
DOI:10.1007/s15010-022-01865-0