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SARS-Cov-2 Now Includes Saliva and Oropharyngeal Specimens
On November 16, 2020, BioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in-vitro diagnostics, has announced the expansion of its ARGENE® range for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. As a complement to nasopharyngeal swab specimens, the SARS-CoV-2 R-GENE® real-time PCR test may now be used on saliva and oropharyngeal (throat) swab specimens for the detection of the virus that causes COVID-19.
The CE-marked SARS-CoV-2 R-GENE® test covers the above three sample types. This allows bioMérieux to address the recommendation issued by the French National Authority for Health (HAS) on September 18, 2020, which encourages the preferential use of saliva swabs to test symptomatic individuals for whom it is difficult or impossible to use nasopharyngeal swabs.
Expanding the use of the ARGENE® molecular test to include saliva swab specimens will make the test more acceptable to many patients, and will make it easier to perform. This development helps optimize laboratory workflows.
The SARS-COV-2 R-GENE® test is an open assay, meaning that it may be performed by any laboratory using PCR technology on most commercially-available nucleic acid extraction and amplification platforms. Results are delivered in 4 to 5 hours, and a large number of patient samples may be processed simultaneously.
