Sensitivity of RSV detection by PCR in respiratory samples is not reduced by a 24 h delay from sampling to testing with storage at room temperature
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a common cause of severe respiratory tract disease in infants, the elderly and immunocompromised patients. However, there is uncertainty as to how sample handling practices affect performance of tests to detect RSV. The aim of this study was to determine whether RSV RNA remains reliably detectable in nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal (NP/OP) samples, saliva, and sputum samples over time.Respiratory samples were collected as part of a prospective observational study of acute lower respiratory tract disease (aLRTD) hospitalisations in adults in Bristol (UK). Samples that tested positive by PCR on receipt (0 h), were re-tested at 24 h having been stored at room temperature. We found that all but one of the samples PCR-positive for RSV at 0 h remained positive at 24 h, across all sample types and RSV strains. Ct values for NP/OP and saliva samples were significantly lower at 24 h than at 0 h, suggesting potential low-level viral replication in the samples. These results suggest that RSV tests can provide consistent results after a delay of up to 24 h following sample collection.
Authors
- Katherine Pettinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4749-0866)
- Gabriella Valentine (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6809-6270)
- Rajeka Lazarus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4683-1331)
- Milo Jeenes-Flanagan
- Pip Croxford
- Emma Scott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7854-9982)
- Nicola Manning
- Robert W Aldridge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0542-0816)
- Anna Koi
- María Lahuerta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9748-9273)
- Madeleine Clout (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7645-1199)
- Kyla Chandler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5587-8724)
- Johanna Kellett Wright
- Claire Mitchell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8976-604X)
- Jason Harkness
- Katie Lihou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0739-9515)
- Charles E. Butler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0994-3289)
- Kate Helliker
- Dylan Thomas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3234-8998)
- Sarah Stollery
- Louise Setter
- Barbara Dooley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2139-8316)
- Julia Brzezinska
- Anya Mattocks
- Leah Fleming (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5070-352X)
- Rupert Antico
- Lily Smart
- Marianne Vasquez
- Francis H. Wright
- Zsuzsa Szasz-Benczur
- Kazminder Fox
- Georgina Mortimer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3759-399X)
- Þórir Einarsson Long (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2377-7886)
- Konstantina Minou
- Niall Grace
- Jo Southern (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6172-7092)
- Seevakumar Suppiah
- Jake Whittle
- Adam Finn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1756-5668)
- Faith E. Davies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3971-2393)
- Oliver Griffiths (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3954-9343)
- Amelia Langdon
- Fiona Perkins
- Kaltun Duale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7126-5319)
- Lana Ward
- Zsolt Friedrich
- Serena McGuinness (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8997-3225)
- William Healy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3946-801X)
- H. Swift
- León Danon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7076-1871)
- Lucy Grimwood
- Kathy Schneider
- Chloe Farren
- Rhian Walters
- Julie Cloake
- Anabella Turner
- Louise Wright
- Katie Maughan
- Sandi Nammuni Arachchge
- Malak Eghleilib
- Catherine Hyams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3923-1773)
- Robin Marlow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3192-3102)
- Maddalena Bellavia
- Zoe Taylor
- Emma Bridgeman
- Ben Hitchings
- Olivia Pearce
- Bethany Osborne
- Ilana Kelland
- Jonathan Vowles
- Jane Kinney
- María García González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3400-2146)
- Monika Chaulagain
- Kajal Naukariya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1133-2495)
- James T. Symanowski
- Francesca Bayley
- Robyn Heath (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2853-4552)
- Siddiqa Uddin
- Vicki Mackay
- Taslima Mona
- Natalie Chang
- Charli Grimes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0171-0704)
- Mariella Ardeshir
- Peter Sequenza
- Amy L. Taylor
- Lisa Grimmer
- C. Povey
- Nick Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1789-0436)
- Matthew J. Randell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5856-3007)
- Zandile Maseko
- Elizabeth Begier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1287-5416)
- Begonia Morales‐Aza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4760-543X)
- Katarina Milutinović (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1034-5761)
- Tawassal Riaz
- Gabriella Ruffino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1549-9364)
- Leigh Morrison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8493-6687)
- Lauren C. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4290-3262)
- Grace Tilzey
- David Adegbite (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0464-9910)
- Maia Lyall
- Callum Hawkins
- Josh Anderson
- Hanah Batholomew
- Imogen Ely
- Anna Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3578-213X)
- Sean Robinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4670-0087)
- Aaran Sinclair
- Yassin Ben Khoud
- Jade King
- Robert A. Cooper
- James Conner
- Zahra Hashmi
- Kwok Lung Tong
- Michael Booth
- T. Barrett
- Josephine Bonnici
- Jennifer Oliver
- Adriana Elena BOATA AZIS
- Elinor Balch
- Bradford D Gessner
- Rebecca Clemence
- Tudor Dimofte
- Ella Ackroyd-Weldon
- Harriet Ibbotson
- Juan Garcia-Tello
- Marta Mergulhao
- Martina Chmelarova
- Miriama Resutikova
- Nefeli Tavira
- Nellie Farhoudi
- Petronela Anchidin
- Rosie Newman-Hopkins
- Sam Kemery
- Harriet Kempson
- Nicolas Daryell-Armes
- Ainhoa Rodriguez-Pereira
- Hephzibah Robb
- Phoebe Kibble (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8768-036X)
- Ged Ruffell
- Tom Nyamunda
- Caye Lisondra
Institutions
- Pfizer (United States) (US)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Global Vaccines (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Molecular Medicine
- Published
- 2025-11-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-025-01403-2
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Respiratory viral infections research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.35