High Efficacy of Saliva in Detecting SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR in Adults and Children

Rising demands for repetitive SARS-CoV-2 screens and mass testing necessitate additional test strategies. Saliva may serve as an alternative to nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) its collection is simple, non-invasive amenable mass- home testing, but rigorous validation, particularly in children, missing. We conducted a large-scale head-to-head comparison of detection by RT-PCR saliva NPS 1270 adults children reporting outpatient centers emergency unit. In total, 273 individuals were tested positive either or saliva. results the two specimens showed high agreement (overall percent = 97.8%). Despite lower viral loads both fared well compared (positive 92.5%). Importantly, infections more often detected than predictive value 84.8%), underlining that sampling can be challenging. The comprehensive parallel analysis reported here establishes generally reliable specimen SARS-CoV-2, with particular advantages readily applicable increase facilitate children.