ArticlemSphere2020
Implementation of Antibody Rapid Diagnostic Testing versus Real-Time Reverse Transcription-PCR Sample Pooling in the Screening of COVID-19: a Case of Different Testing Strategies in Africa.
Article in mSphere, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review of strategies adopted to scale up COVID-19 testing in low-, middle- and high-income countries.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of viral load on sample pooling for reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction detection-based diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 in Nigeria.African journal of laboratory medicine · 2025Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Testing Strategies in the Diagnosis and Management of COVID-19 Patients in Low-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.Molecular diagnosis & therapy · 2023Article
- Improving testing capacity for COVID-19: experiences and lessons from Senegal, Uganda, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- The deuce-ace of Lassa Fever, Ebola virus disease and COVID-19 simultaneous infections and epidemics in West Africa: clinical and public health implications.Tropical medicine and health · 2021Review
- Humanitarian Surgical Missions in Times of COVID-19: Recommendations to Safely Return to a Sub-Saharan Africa Low-Resource Setting.World journal of surgery · 2021Article
- Supporting scale-up of COVID-19 RT-PCR testing processes with discrete event simulation.PloS one · 2021Article
- Does the data tell the true story? A modelling assessment of early COVID-19 pandemic suppression and mitigation strategies in Ghana.PloS one · 2021Article
- Considerations for Group Testing: A Practical Approach for the Clinical Laboratory.The Clinical biochemist. Reviews · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has wreaked havoc across the globe; although the number of cases in Africa remains lower than in other regions, it is on a gradual upward trajectory. To date, COVID-19 cases have been reported in 54 out of 55 African countries. However, due to limited severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) real-time reverse transcription-PCR (rRT-PCR) testing capacity and scarcity of testing reagents, it is probable that the total number of cases could far exceed published statistics. In this viewpoint, using Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe as examples of countries that have implemented different testing strategies, we argue that the implementation of sample pooling for rRT-PCR over antibody rapid diagnostic testing could have a greater impact in assessing disease burden. Sample pooling offers huge advantages compared to single test rRT-PCR, as it reduces diagnostic costs, personnel time, burnout, and analytical run times. Africa is already strained in terms of testing resources for COVID-19; hence, cheaper alternative ways need to be implemented to conserve resources, maximize mass testing, and reduce transmission in the wider population.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.