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

• 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
• ISSN: 0300-8126; 1439-0973
• DOI: 10.1007/s15010-022-01865-0

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.