Group testing as a strategy for COVID-19 epidemiological monitoring and community surveillance
Vincent Brault, Bastien Mallein, Jean-François Rupprecht
Abstract
We propose an analysis and applications of sample pooling to the epidemiologic monitoring of COVID-19. We first introduce a model of the RT-qPCR process used to test for the presence of virus in a sample and construct a statistical model for the viral load in a typical infected individual inspired by large-scale clinical datasets. We present an application of group testing for the prevention of epidemic outbreak in closed connected communities. We then propose a method for the measure of the prevalence in a population taking into account the increased number of false negatives associated with the group testing method.
Topics & Concepts
PoolingSample (material)Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Construct (python library)Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Group testingPopulationStatisticsTest (biology)OutbreakComputer scienceMedicineData miningEnvironmental healthArtificial intelligenceVirologyMathematicsBiologyPathologyProgramming languagePaleontologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)ChromatographyCombinatoricsChemistryDiseaseSARS-CoV-2 detection and testingBiosensors and Analytical DetectionSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research