key: cord-1013639-ce1o4wz8
authors: Rawlinson, William D.; van Hal, Sebastiaan; Yeang, Malinna; Condylios, Anna; Naing, Zin; Au, Jane-Phan; Ruiz da Silva, Mariana; Foster, Charles
title: Background, testing methods, and laboratory approaches to SARS coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Covid19
date: 2021-07-31
journal: Pathology
DOI: 10.1016/j.pathol.2021.05.025
sha: ae428603ae837cb06d283f9885ece61e757995e6
doc_id: 1013639
cord_uid: ce1o4wz8

nan

The End Unexplained Cardiac Death (EndUCD) Registry commenced in Victoria, Australia in April 2019. It is a multicentre cardiac arrest surveillance registry for patients aged 1 to 50 years. It is intended to expand into NSW and then other states of Australia. The key aims of the EndUCD Registry are to: 1) Provide a patient support resource, including website, patientoriented information and streamlined referral process. 2) Create a research platform for advocacy and improving understanding of accurate rates of sudden cardiac arrest/ death in patients aged 1-50 years old. 3) Create a genetic biorepository as a resource for future studies. 4) Provide a state-of-the-art resource for clinicians wishing to link cardiac arrest patients and families in with psychological support, comprehensive family screening and consideration of genetic testing. This presentation will examine the initial formation of the registry and present initial data from the first 2 years of collection and examine the role of forensic pathologist and forensic services in such a registry.

Introduction: A pandemic is an epidemic occurring worldwide, crossing international boundaries and affecting many people. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 from Hubei province in China globally has led to rapid changes in our approaches to diagnosis, with rapid use of molecular methods such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) to characterise mutations, and deployment of novel therapeutics including mRNA vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. Methods: New methods for diagnosis, including WGS, and different approaches to emerging mutations in virus variants of concern (VOC) will be discussed. Results and conclusions: Diagnosis now uses standard molecular methods including commercial and inhouse techniques, more recently rapid antigen detection, and research into rapid smartphone based nanoparticle assays. Laboratory practices of sample pooling, reflex testing using WGS, and workflow changes are now routine. The use of rapid WGS techniques, 1 and available Australian data, 2,3 have informed assessment of the accuracy and utility of these methods in the diagnostic laboratory. Assessment of changes in PCR primer binding sites, and of the influence of how sequence data are assessed (Foster et al., in press) means accreditation and QA programs need to be continuously updated.

Analytical validity of nanopore sequencing for rapid SARS-CoV-2 genome analysis

Revealing COVID-19 transmission in Australia by SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing and agent-based modeling

Tracking the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia using genomics