Open AccessDried blood spot specimens for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing: A multi-site, multi-assay comparison
Author(s) -
François Cholette,
Christine Mesa,
Angela Harris,
Hannah Ellis,
Karla Cachero,
Philip Lacap,
Yannick Galipeau,
MarcAndré Langlois,
AnneClaude Gingras,
Cédric P. Yansouni,
Jesse Papenburg,
Matthew P. Cheng,
Pranesh Chakraborty,
Derek Stein,
Paul Van Caeseele,
Sofia Bartlett,
Mel Krajden,
David M. Goldfarb,
Allison McGeer,
Carla Osiowy,
Catherine Hankins,
Bruce Mazer,
Michael A. Drebot,
John Kim
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0261003
Subject(s) - serology , dried blood spot , covid-19 , gold standard (test) , medicine , dried blood , predictive value , population , virology , antibody , immunology , biology , environmental health , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , chromatography , chemistry , genetics
The true severity of infection due to COVID-19 is under-represented because it is based on only those who are tested. Although nucleic acid amplifications tests (NAAT) are the gold standard for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, serological assays provide better population-level SARS-CoV-2 prevalence estimates. Implementing large sero-surveys present several logistical challenges within Canada due its unique geography including rural and remote communities. Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling is a practical solution but comparative performance data on SARS-CoV-2 serological tests using DBS is currently lacking. Here we present test performance data from a well-characterized SARS-CoV-2 DBS panel sent to laboratories across Canada representing 10 commercial and 2 in-house developed tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Three commercial assays identified all positive and negative DBS correctly corresponding to a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 100% (95% CI = 72.2, 100). Two in-house assays also performed equally well. In contrast, several commercial assays could not achieve a sensitivity greater than 40% or a negative predictive value greater than 60%. Our findings represent the foundation for future validation studies on DBS specimens that will play a central role in strengthening Canada’s public health policy in response to COVID-19.