Evaluation of Rapid Antigen Detection Kits for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 Virus

Abstract

Aim: Currently, there is lack of data regarding rapid antigen detection (RAD) kits to detect SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 virus. Objective: The purpose of this evaluation is to assess analytical sensitivity of 12 RAD kits against SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2. Study design: Analytical sensitivity was determined by limit of detection (LOD). A serial tenfold dilution set from a respiratory specimen collected from a COVID-19 patient infected by SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 was used. RT-PCR was used as a reference method. Results: The LOD results showed that 11 and one RAD kits were 100- and 1000-fold less sensitive than RT-PCR respectively. Conclusion: The results showed that the RAD kits evaluated in this study may be used for first-line screening of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 variant.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• B.1.617.2
• delta
• rapid antigen detection
• SARS-CoV-2

Author contributions

GCK Mak: conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, writing - original draft, writing - review and editing; SSY Lau: validation, investigation; KKY Wong: validation, investigation; NLS Chow: validation, investigation; CS Lau: resources, supervision; ETK Lam: supervision; KHL Ng: supervision; RCW Chan: supervision.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations.

Data sharing statement

Data sharing is not applicable to the current study as the data are comprehensively described throughout this article.