Using Test Positivity Rate (TPR) as an Indicator for Strategic Action in COVID-19: A Situational Analysis in Kerala, India

2021 ◽  
pp. 263394472110542
Author(s):  
Raman Swathy Vaman ◽  
Mathew J. Valamparampil ◽  
Anu Elizabeth Augustine
Keyword(s):  
Time Frame ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Situational Analysis ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Primary Care System ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Strategic Action ◽  
Daily Change ◽  
Timely Fashion ◽  
Polymerase Chain

Administrators and policymakers have relied on test positivity rate (TPR) for making policy decisions regarding local, regional, and national lockdowns. It has the advantage of easily available data with an easy technique for calculation on day-to-day basis. However, concerns are being raised regarding its use as a sole indicator for determining movement restrictions and lockdowns. The present review provides a perspective of the alterations in TPR in Kasaragod district of Kerala during the first half of 2021. The variations in the number of antigen and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR) tests along with the trend of proportion of rt-PCR test are depicted. In places like Kerala where primary care system and contact tracing is comparatively robust than several other regions, testing the appropriate persons in a timely fashion alone is sufficient to cause an upswing in the TPR. Rather than daily change, the overall change in a larger time frame of 1 to 2 weeks could give early warning regarding the emergence of a new wave. TPR alone may not be able to reflect the transmission patterns of COVID-19. Using 7-day median value of TPR along with weekly tests done per 10,000 population, 7-day rolling average of active cases per 10,000 population, or daily number of new positive cases per 10,000 population could bring out a more composite indicator. Such an indicator reflecting the disease dynamics at regional levels will enable people to improve their livelihood without compromising on COVID-19.

scholarly journals Overview of Safety Measures at Selected Airports during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8499
Author(s):  
Monika Blišťanová ◽  
Michaela Tirpáková ◽  
Ľubomíra Brůnová
Keyword(s):  
Time Frame ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Scoring Method ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Cleaning And Disinfection

The year 2020 was very challenging for the whole world, given the outbreak of the ongoing coronavirus-related pandemic, and was marked in particular by overcoming new hitherto unknown obstacles. For air transport, in particular, airlines stopped flying altogether and were forced to ground hundreds of planes worldwide involuntarily. Airports had to close their terminals for a long time, wholly suspend operations, and its resumption required significant organizational changes. This article summarizes the measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic adopted by airports to minimize the risk of spreading the disease. The article focuses on countermeasures and their implementation at selected airports in a specific time frame and airports’ behavior during a pandemic which varies depending on country and time of the year. The results demonstrated that steps being taken at airports include the use of face coverings or masks, social distance, enhanced cleaning and disinfection, or temperature checks and/or symptoms (fever, loss of smell, chills, cough, shortness of breath), RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) screening and data collection with health declaration. These measures have now become an essential standard for the operation of airports and can, therefore, be used to assess the level of airport safety achieved. In the final phase, the article evaluates the level of achieved airport safety based on the proposed scoring method.

scholarly journals Current Avenues for COVID-19 Serology

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (02) ◽  
pp. 087-090
Author(s):  
Saumya Srivastava ◽  
Vidhi Jain ◽  
Vijaya Lakshmi Nag ◽  
Sanjeev Misra ◽  
Kuldeep Singh
Keyword(s):  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Immune Status ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Polymerase Chain

AbstractDevelopment of rapid, reliable, and easy diagnostic tests with high-throughput is the need of the hour for laboratories combating the COVID-19 pandemic. While real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold standard for diagnosing active infections, it is expensive and time-consuming. Serological diagnostic assays with a premise to aid rapid contact tracing, immune status determination, and identification of potential convalescent plasma donors hold great promise. Timely diagnosis, effective treatment, and future prevention are key to management of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Effectivity Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Nasopharyngeal Swab Rapid Testing Kits in Pakistan: A Scenario of Inadequate COVID-19 Diagnosis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umar Saeed ◽  
Sara Rizwan Uppal ◽  
Zahra Zahid Piracha ◽  
Aftab Ahmad Khan ◽  
Azhar Rasheed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gold Standard ◽  
Rapid Detection ◽  
International Health ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
International Health Organizations ◽  
Polymerase Chain

Abstract COVID-19 pandemic has urged the need of rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 in limited time frame. To cope with current, COVID-19 expanding scenario, accurate diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 should be ensured by both national and international health organizations. Sporadic marketing of SARS-CoV-2 rapid detection kits raises questions regarding quality control and assurance. To aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swab based rapid detection kits, in comparison to gold standard USFDA approved triple target real-time polymerase chain reaction. A cross-sectional study of 1500 suspected COVID-19 patients was conducted. 100 RT-PCR confirmed patients nasopharyngeal swabs were evaluated for RDT. The COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 NSP based RDT analysis showed 78% reactivity. Among RT-PCR confirmed negative subjects, 49.3% showed false positivity. The positive predictive analysis revealed 67.82% values, while the negative predictive vales of were 64.40%. The NSP RDTs showed limited sensitivities and specificities compared to gold standard RT-PCR. Accurate surveillance of COVID-19 is dependent upon authentic and validated SARS-CoV-2 detection nation-wide, which needs to be monitored by higher authorities. This study is critical for designing adequate measures by several COVID-19 strategic organizations to prevent future viral epidemics.

scholarly journals Salivary detection of COVID-19. Clinical performance of oral sponge sampling for SARS-CoV-2 testing

2021 ◽  
pp. 00396-2021
Author(s):  
Jacques Boutros ◽  
Jonathan Benzaquen ◽  
Charles Hugo Marquette ◽  
Marius Ilié ◽  
Mickelina Labaky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Screening ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Clinical Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Attending Physician ◽  
Close Contacts

BackgroundThe current diagnostic standard for coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing with naso-pharyngeal (NP) swabs. The invasiveness and need for trained personnel make the NP technique unsuited for repeated community-based mass screening. We developed a technique to collect saliva in a simple and easy way with the sponges that are usually used for tamponade of epistaxis. This study was carried out to validate the clinical performance of oral sponge (OS) sampling for SARS-CoV-2 testing.MethodsOver a period of 22 weeks, we collected prospectively 409 paired NP and OS samples from consecutive subjects presenting to a public community-based free screening center. Subjects were referred by their attending physician because of recent COVID-19 symptoms (n=147) or by the contact tracing staff of the French public health insurance since they were considered as close contacts of a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case (n=262).ResultsIn symptomatic subjects, RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 testing with OS showed a 96.5% (95%CI: 89.6–94.8) concordance with NP testing, and, a 93.2% (95%CI: 89.1–97.3)] sensitivity when using the IdyllaTM platform and a sensitivity of 76.3% [69.4–83.2] on the Synlab Barla laboratory platform. In close contacts the NP-OS concordance (93.8% [95%CI: 90.9–96.7]) and OS sensitivity (71.9% [95%CI: 66.5–77.3]) were slightly lower.ConclusionThese results strongly suggest that OS testing is a straightforward, low-cost and high-throughput sampling method that can be used for frequent RT-PCR testing of COVID-19 patients and mass screening of populations.

scholarly journals Retour d’expérience sur Covisan : un dispositif médicosocial pour casser les chaînes de transmission de la Covid-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Pernet ◽  
H. de Bonnières ◽  
C. Breton ◽  
V. Hirsch ◽  
J.S. Molitor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Prise En Charge ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Dépistage Systématique

Covisan a été mis en place à partir du 14 avril 2020 au niveau de quatre sites pilotes de l’Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP) pour casser les chaînes de transmission au SARS-CoV-2 selon un modèle original déjà éprouvé en Haïti pour éliminer le choléra dans les années 2010. Le dispositif consiste en un dépistage systématique des cas possibles de Covid-19, un accompagnement dans leur confinement et une prise en charge de leurs proches. Des équipes mobiles se sont déplacées au domicile des cas contacts afin d’évaluer les possibilités d’un isolement au domicile, de proposer des aides matérielles (courses, blanchisserie, hébergement externalisé) et de dépister leurs proches. Au 17 juin 2020, 6 376 patients ont été orientés vers Covisan, parmi lesquels 153 avaient une RT-PCR (reverse transciptase polymerase chain reaction) positive au SARSCoV-2. Covisan a permis un partenariat ville–hôpital innovant, en impliquant de multiples acteurs (personnels soignants, administratifs, logisticiens, métiers de service). Les autorités sanitaires se sont d’ailleurs inspirées de ce modèle pour lutter contre l’épidémie en mettant en place le contact tracing. Covisan, qui a appris en marchant, a également rencontré quelques difficultés, en particulier au niveau de la gestion des différents statuts des personnels ainsi qu’au niveau de la communication interne et externe.

scholarly journals Contribution of Serological Rapid Diagnostic Tests to the Strategy of Contact Tracing in Households Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection Diagnosis in Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorelei Charbonnier ◽  
Julie Rouprêt-Serzec ◽  
Marion Caseris ◽  
Marion Danse ◽  
Aurélie Cointe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Index Child ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Past Infection ◽  
Screening Strategies ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Index Cases

Background: The contact tracing and isolation of contagious individuals are cornerstones in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Strategies to identify household contacts who should be isolated around index children that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 remain to be clarified. We aimed to compare contact tracing strategies around an index child positive for SARS-CoV-2 using serological rapid diagnostic testing (RDT, chromatography immunoassay).Methods: We conducted a contact tracing study in households of index cases children in the Paris region, France, between May 8 and July 27, 2020. We compared two strategies, one using SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and one combining RT-PCR and serological RDT, initiated once RDT was available. The contacts RT-PCR–/RDT+ were considered to have been previously infected and not requiring quarantine. The primary outcome was the proportion of contacts that could avoid quarantine with the two screening strategies.Results: We included 34 children as index cases. Median age was 7 years. They generated 184 contacts (111 adults, 73 children) tested by RT-PCR: 24/184 (13%) were positive. The strategy combining RDT and RT-PCR was performed in 120/184 contacts (77 adults, 43 children) of 26 index children: 16/120 (13%) were RT-PCR+ and 47/120 (39%) were RDT+. Among the 16 individuals who were RT-PCR+, 14 (87%) were also RDT+. Among the 104 individuals who were RT-PCR–, 33 were RDT+. Hence 33/120 (27%) individuals were not isolated.Conclusions: Following the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, a strategy combining serological RDT and nasopharyngeal RT-PCR enabled us to identify around one fourth of contacts with past infection and avoid unnecessary quarantine of these individuals.

1504: Molecular Diagnosis and Staging of Prostate Cancer Using Clusterin in Real Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)

2006 ◽  
Vol 175 (4S) ◽  
pp. 485-486
Author(s):  
Sabarinath B. Nair ◽  
Christodoulos Pipinikas ◽  
Roger Kirby ◽  
Nick Carter ◽  
Christiane Fenske
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Molecular Diagnosis ◽  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Polymerase Chain

Cloning of the cDNA Encoding Human Platelet CD36: Comparison to PCR Amplified Fragments of Monocyte, Endothelial and HEL Cells

1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (03) ◽  
pp. 500-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Wyler ◽  
L Daviet ◽  
H Bortkiewicz ◽  
J-C Bordet ◽  
J L McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Apparent Molecular Weight ◽  
Platelet Glycoprotein ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Hel Cells ◽  
Flanking Region ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Flanking Regions ◽  
Cdna Fragments

SummaryGlycoprotein CD36, also known as GPIIIb or GPIV, is a major platelet glycoprotein that bears the newly identified Naka alloantigen. The aim of this study was to clone platelet CD36 and investigate other forms of CD36-cDNA present in monocytes, endothelial and HEL cells. RNA from above mentioned cells were reverse transcribed (RT), using specific primers for CD36, and amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Sequencing the different amplified platelet derived cDNA fragments, spanning the whole coding and flanking regions, showed the near identity between platelet and CD36-placenta cDNA. Platelet CD36-cDNA cross-hybridized, in Southern blots, with RT-PCR amplified cDNA originating from monocytes, endothelial and HEL cells. However, monocytes showed a RT-PCR amplified cDNA fragment (561 bp) that was present in platelets and placenta but not on endothelial on HEL-cells. Northern blot analysis of platelet RNA hybridized with placenta CD36 indicated the presence of a major (1.95 kb) and a minor (0.95 kb) transcript. The 1.95 kb transcript was the only one observed on Northern blots of monocytes, endothelial and HEL cells. These results indicate that the structure of CD36 expressed in platelets is similar, with the exception of the 3’ flanking region, to that of placenta. Differences in apparent molecular weight between CD36 and CD36-like glycoproteins may be due to post-translational modifications.

Expression of Platelet Membrane Glycoprotein V in Human Megakaryocytes and Megakaryocytic Cell Lines: A Study Using a Novel Monoclonal Antibody against GPV

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (05) ◽  
pp. 762-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiro Takafuta ◽  
Kingo Fujirmura ◽  
Hironori Kawano ◽  
Masaaki Noda ◽  
Tetsuro Fujimoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Immunohistochemical Analysis ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Platelet Membrane ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Flow Cytometric ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Megakaryocytic Cell

SummaryGlycoprotein V (GPV) is a platelet membrane protein with a molecular weight of 82 kD, and one of the leucine rich glycoproteins (LRG). By reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), GPV cDNA was amplified from mRNA of platelets and megakaryocytic cell lines. However, since there are few reports indicating whether GPV protein is expressed in megakaryocytes as a lineage and maturation specific protein, we studied the GPV expression at the protein level by using a novel monoclonal antibody (1D9) recognizing GPV. Flow cytometric and immunohistochemical analysis indicated that GPV was detected on the surface and in the cytoplasm of only the megakaryocytes in bone marrow aspirates. In a megakaryocytic cell line UT-7, GPV antigen increased after treatment with phorbol-12-myri-state-13-acetate (PMA). These data indicate that only megakaryocytes specifically express the GPV protein among hematopoietic cells and that the expression of GPV increases with differentiation of the megakaryocyte as GPIb-IX complex.

Coming-of-Age Cinema in New Zealand

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Fox
Keyword(s):  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Art Cinema ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
French New Wave ◽  
Significant Phenomenon ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Zealanders

This book investigates the coming-of-age genre as a significant phenomenon in New Zealand’s national cinema, tracing its development from the 1970s to the present day. A preliminary chapter identifies the characteristics of the coming-of-age film as a genre, tracing its evolution and the influence of the French New Wave and European Art Cinema, and speculating on the role of the genre in the output of national cinemas. Through case studies of fifteen significant films, including The God Boy, Sleeping Dogs, The Scarecrow, Vigil, Mauri, An Angel at My Table, Heavenly Creatures, Once Were Warriors, Rain, Whale Rider, In My Father’s Den, 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous, Boy, Mahana, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, subsequent chapters examine thematic preoccupations of filmmakers such as the impact of repressive belief systems and social codes, the experience of cultural dislocation, the expression of a Māori perspective through an indigenous “Fourth Cinema,” bicultural relationships, and issues of sexual identity, arguing that these films provide a unique insight into the cultural formation of New Zealanders. Given that the majority of films are adaptations of literary sources, the book also explores the dialogue each film conducts with the nation’s literature, showing how the time frame of each film is updated in a way that allows these films to be considered as a register of important cultural shifts that have occurred as New Zealanders have sought to discover their emerging national identity.

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