Evaluation of Molecular Point-of-care Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 Detection Implementation in Resource-limited Settings

Project Title: Evaluation of molecular point-of-care Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 detection implementation in resource limited settings (RIA2020EF-2990) - EXPERT-CoV-2

Principal Investigator: Dr Daniel T. R Minja, NIMR- Tanga Centre, Korogwe Research Station, Tanzania

Collaborating Partners: University of Kinshasa, DR Congo, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Burkina Faso, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Univesity of Antwerp, Belgium, University of valencia, Spain

Background. Rapid diagnostic tests of individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are the cornerstone to implement early case detection and management to control the spread of the deadly virus. RT-PCR is the gold standard for detection of SARS-CoV-2 but its availability and userability is impeded by fragmented laboratory infrastructure in LMICs and even when available it's only found in reference labs.

Recent development of the Gene Expert molecular Point-of-Care (POC) (Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV test , Cepheid Sunnyvale, CA) for SARS-CoV-2 testing in the clinics with results delivery within hours of sample collection has been vital in resolving the turnaround time (TAT). GeneXpert have been widely rolled out within national tuberculosis (TB) and HIV programmes across the Africa. However, evaluation of its diagnostic accuracy and the feasibility of its integration into the TB/HIV programme has not been evaluated in resource-constrained settings.