Multicentre comparison of quantitative PCR-based assays to detect SARS-CoV-2, Germany, March 2020
Maximilian Muenchhoff, Helga Mairhofer, Hans Nitschko, Natascha Grzimek-Koschewa, Dieter Hoffmann, Annemarie Berger, Holger F. Rabenau, Marek Widera, Nikolaus Ackermann, Regina Konrad, Sabine Zange, Alexander Graf, Stefan Krebs, Helmut Blum, Andreas Sing, Bernhard Liebl, Roman Wölfel, Sandra Ciesek, Christian Drosten, Ulrike Protzer, Stephan Boehm, Oliver T. Keppler
Abstract
Containment strategies and clinical management of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients during the current pandemic depend on reliable diagnostic PCR assays for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we compare 11 different RT-PCR test systems used in seven diagnostic laboratories in Germany in March 2020. While most assays performed well, we identified detection problems in a commonly used assay that may have resulted in false-negative test results during the first weeks of the pandemic.