Saline gargle collection method is comparable to nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabbing for the molecular detection and sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in Botswana
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a major challenge has been inadequate sampling for detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Pediatric patients posed additional challenges with sample collection, and they and others are also at risk of rare complications from swab collection. Saline gargle (SG) sampling method has been evaluated and introduced as an alternative to swab collection in several jurisdictions. Our study affirms the acceptable performance of the saline gargle method for the molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 and also establishes that SG samples do not pose an obstacle for genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2. The SG method may be a reliable alternative for SARS-CoV-2 detection and next-generation sequencing, facilitating COVID-19 surveillance efforts in resource-constraint settings.
Authors
- Simani Gaseitsiwe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7089-3735)
- Jonathan Strysko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5258-7654)
- Irene Gobe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3679-6509)
- Leabaneng Tawe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9034-2474)
- David A. Goldfarb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0835-9504)
- Iryna Kayda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3506-2618)
- Mosepele Mosepele
- Patience Motshosi
- Mai‐Lei Woo Kinshella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5846-3014)
- Boitumelo Zuze (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5283-7763)
- Kwana Lechiile (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6691-1905)
- Kedumetse Seru (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9456-6367)
- Wonderful Tatenda Choga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7606-0569)
- Margaret Mokomane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4406-3594)
- Sikhulile M. Moyo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3821-4592)
- Gofaone Bagatiseng
Institutions
- Harvard University (US)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- University of Botswana (BW)
- Stellenbosch University (ZA)
- Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BW)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Microbiology Spectrum
- Published
- 2025-05-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02023-24
- Primary Topic
- SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- University of British Columbia
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases