Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-based anterior nasal self-testing programme for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, Austria, March 2021

Peter Willeit; Benoît Bernar; Christoph Zurl; Mariam Al-Rawi; Andrea Berghold; David Bernhard; Wegene Borena; Christian Doppler; Reinhold Kerbl; Alwin Köhler; Robert Krause; Bernd Lamprecht; Johannes Pröll; Hannes Schmidt; Ivo Steinmetz; Evelyn Stelzl; Heribert Stoiber; Dorothee von Laer; Johannes Zuber; Thomas Müller; Volker Strenger; Michael Wagner

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797

Rapid communication Open Access

Like 0

Download

Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-based anterior nasal self-testing programme for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, Austria, March 2021
Peter Willeit^1,2,* , Benoît Bernar^3,* , Christoph Zurl^4,5,6,* , Mariam Al-Rawi^7,8 , Andrea Berghold⁹ , David Bernhard^10,11 , Wegene Borena¹² , Christian Doppler^10,11 , Reinhold Kerbl¹³ , Alwin Köhler^7,8 , Robert Krause^4,5 , Bernd Lamprecht¹⁴ , Johannes Pröll¹⁰ , Hannes Schmidt^7,15 , Ivo Steinmetz¹⁶ , Evelyn Stelzl¹⁶ , Heribert Stoiber¹² , Dorothee von Laer¹² , Johannes Zuber^7,17 , Thomas Müller³ , Volker Strenger ^18,** , Michael Wagner^7,15,19,**
View Affiliations Hide Affiliations

Affiliations: ¹ Clinical Epidemiology Team, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria ² Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom ³ Department of Pediatrics I, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria ⁴ Section of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria ⁵ BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria ⁶ Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of General Paediatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria ⁷ Vienna Covid-19 Detection Initiative, Vienna, Austria ⁸ Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ⁹ Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria ¹⁰ Center for Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria ¹¹ Division of Pathophysiology, Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria ¹² Institute of Virology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria ¹³ Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LKH Hochsteiermark, Leoben, Austria ¹⁴ Department of Pulmonology, Kepler-University-Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria ¹⁵ Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ¹⁶ Diagnostic and Research Institute of Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria ¹⁷ IMP - Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, Austria ¹⁸ Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria ¹⁹ Center for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

* These authors contributed equally as first authors.

** These authors contributed equally as senior authors.
Correspondence:
Volker Strenger
volker.strenger medunigraz.at
View Citation Hide Citation

Citation style for this article: Willeit Peter, Bernar Benoît, Zurl Christoph, Al-Rawi Mariam, Berghold Andrea, Bernhard David, Borena Wegene, Doppler Christian, Kerbl Reinhold, Köhler Alwin, Krause Robert, Lamprecht Bernd, Pröll Johannes, Schmidt Hannes, Steinmetz Ivo, Stelzl Evelyn, Stoiber Heribert, von Laer Dorothee, Zuber Johannes, Müller Thomas, Strenger Volker, Wagner Michael. Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-based anterior nasal self-testing programme for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, Austria, March 2021. Euro Surveill. 2021;26(34):pii=2100797. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797 Received: 10 Aug 2021; Accepted: 25 Aug 2021

Previous Article
Table of Contents
Next Article

Abstract

This study evaluates the performance of the antigen-based anterior nasal screening programme implemented in all Austrian schools to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections. We combined nationwide antigen-based screening data obtained in March 2021 from 5,370 schools (Grade 1–8) with an RT-qPCR-based prospective cohort study comprising a representative sample of 244 schools. Considering a range of assumptions, only a subset of infected individuals are detected with the programme (low to moderate sensitivity) and non-infected individuals mainly tested negative (very high specificity).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797

2021-08-26

2024-12-22

Click here for cited by

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/26/34/eurosurv-26-34-1.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

Mina MJ, Andersen KG. COVID-19 testing: One size does not fit all. Science. 2021;371(6525):126-7. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe9187 PMID: 33414210
Mina MJ, Peto TE, García-Fiñana M, Semple MG, Buchan IE. Clarifying the evidence on SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid tests in public health responses to COVID-19. Lancet. 2021;397(10283):1425-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00425-6 PMID: 33609444
Dinnes J, Deeks JJ, Berhane S, Taylor M, Adriano A, Davenport C, et al. Rapid, point-of-care antigen and molecular-based tests for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021;3:CD013705. . Available from: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013705.pub2/full/de https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013705.pub2 PMID: 33760236
Hyde Z. COVID-19, children and schools: overlooked and at risk. Med J Aust. 2020;213(10):444-446.e1. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.50823 PMID: 33099775
Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung (BMBWF). Wissenschaftliche Begleitung zum Eintritts-Selbsttest (anterio-nasaler Antigen-Schnelltest) an österreichischen Schulen. [Scientific instructions for the access self-test (anterio-nasal antigen rapid test) at Austrian schools]. Vienna: BMBWF. [Accessed: 30 Mar 2021]. German. Available from: https://www.bmbwf.gv.at/Themen/Forschung/Aktuelles/BeAntiGenT.html
Lepu Medical. SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test Kit (Colloidal Gold Immunochromatography). Beijing: Lepu Medical. [Accessed: 30 Mar 2021]. Available from: https://en.lepumedical.com/products/sars-cov-2-antigen-rapid-test-kit-colloidal-gold-immunochromatography
ACON. Flowflex SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test. San Diego: ACON. Accessed: 31 Mar 2021]. Available from: https://www.aconlabs.com/sars-cov-2-antigen-rapid-test
Willeit P, Krause R, Lamprecht B, Berghold A, Hanson B, Stelzl E, et al. Prevalence of RT-qPCR-detected SARS-CoV-2 infection at schools: First results from the Austrian School-SARS-CoV-2 prospective cohort study. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2021;5:100086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2021.100086 PMID: 34396360
Lindner AK, Nikolai O, Kausch F, Wintel M, Hommes F, Gertler M, et al. Head-to-head comparison of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting rapid test with self-collected nasal swab versus professional-collected nasopharyngeal swab. Eur Respir J. 2021;57(4):2003961. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.03961-2020 PMID: 33303544
Krüttgen A, Cornelissen CG, Dreher M, Hornef MW, Imöhl M, Kleines M. Comparison of the SARS-CoV-2 Rapid antigen test to the real star Sars-CoV-2 RT PCR kit. J Virol Methods. 2021;288:114024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jviromet.2020.114024 PMID: 33227341
Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). Evaluierung von SARS-CoV-2-Antigen-Schnelltests aus anterioren Nasenabstrichen im Vergleich zu PCR an Gurgellösungen oder Nasopharyngealabstrichen. [Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests from anterior nasal swabs compared with PCR on gargle solutions or nasopharyngeal swabs]. Vienna: AGES; 2021. German. Available from: https://www.ages.at/service/service-presse/pressemeldungen/evaluierung-von-sars-cov-2-antigen-schnelltests-aus-anterioren-nasenabstrichen-im-vergleich-zu-pcr-an-gurgelloesungen-oder-nasopharyngealabstrichen
Savela ES, Winnett A, Romano AE, Porter MK, Shelby N, Akana R, et al. SARS-CoV-2 is detectable using sensitive RNA saliva testing days before viral load reaches detection range of low-sensitivity nasal swab tests. medRxiv. 2021.04.02.21254771. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.02.21254771 . PMID: 33851180

Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-based anterior nasal self-testing programme for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, Austria, March 2021

Citation style for this article: <a href="/search?value1=Peter+Willeit&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Willeit Peter</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Beno%C3%AEt+Bernar&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Bernar Benoît</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Christoph+Zurl&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Zurl Christoph</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Mariam+Al-Rawi&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Al-Rawi Mariam</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Andrea+Berghold&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Berghold Andrea</a>, <a href="/search?value1=David+Bernhard&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Bernhard David</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Wegene+Borena&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Borena Wegene</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Christian+Doppler&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Doppler Christian</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Reinhold+Kerbl&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Kerbl Reinhold</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Alwin+K%C3%B6hler&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Köhler Alwin</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Robert+Krause&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Krause Robert</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Bernd+Lamprecht&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Lamprecht Bernd</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Johannes+Pr%C3%B6ll&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Pröll Johannes</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Hannes+Schmidt&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Schmidt Hannes</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Ivo+Steinmetz&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Steinmetz Ivo</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Evelyn+Stelzl&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Stelzl Evelyn</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Heribert+Stoiber&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Stoiber Heribert</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Dorothee+von+Laer&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">von Laer Dorothee</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Johannes+Zuber&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Zuber Johannes</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Thomas+M%C3%BCller&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Müller Thomas</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Volker+Strenger&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Strenger Volker</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Michael+Wagner&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Wagner Michael</a>. Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-based anterior nasal self-testing programme for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, Austria, March 2021. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2021;26(34):pii=2100797. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797</a> Received: 10 Aug 2021;   Accepted: 25 Aug 2021

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797

Data & Media loading...

Submit comment

Comment moderation successfully completed

Submit your article here

Submit an Article

Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-based anterior nasal self-testing programme for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, Austria, March 2021

Abstract

Click here for cited by