SARS-CoV-2病毒样品感染性评估方法概述

Overview of current methods for assessment of the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2specimens

在持续蔓延的COVID-19大流行疫情中,大规模的SARS-CoV-2病毒检测被广泛应用于疑似病例诊断、密切接触者追踪、感染预防控制等目的,为阻止病毒快速传播发挥重要作用。最常见的病毒核酸检测只关注样品中是否存在SARSCoV-2病毒遗传物质,不能判定病毒是否能够复制,无法评估样品是否具有感染性。基于细胞培养的病毒分离是评估样品是否具有潜在感染性的经典方法,考虑到生物安全等因素,该方法不适合在基层实验室广泛推广。本文总结了目前报道的评估SARS-CoV-2病毒样品感染性的方法并分析其优缺点。以期建立标准化且简单易行适合广泛开展的替代方法,促进基层实验室开展样品感染性风险评估,便于合理配置公共卫生资源,精准防控COVID-19大流行疫情。

In the context of COVID-19,mass testing of SARS-CoV-2specimens is widely implemented in diverse settings for diagnosis of suspected cases,contact tracing,and infection control and prevention.Mass testing has played an important role in mitigating rapid viral transmission.Routine nucleic acid amplification tests can detect the presence of genetic material of SARS-CoV-2in specimens but cannot differentiate between the presence of replication-competent virus and remnant noninfectious RNA.Cell-culture-based viral isolation is the classical approach for assessing the potential infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 specimens;however,a requirement of high biosafety facilities makes this method accessible to small clinical laboratories lacking expertise.In this review,the pros and cons of several methods capable of predicting the viability or transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2in specimens are summarized.A standardized protocol,serving as a surrogate for virus culture,is expected to be established to facilitate rapid assessment of the potential infectivity of PCR-positive specimens in small laboratories,thus enabling rational allocation of public health resources,and helping to combat the ongoing COVID-19pandemic.