Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-based anterior nasal self-testing programme for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, Austria, March 2021

Peter Willeit; Benoît Bernar; Christoph Zurl; Mariam Al-Rawi; Andrea Berghold; David Bernhard; Wegene Borena; Christian Doppler; Reinhold Kerbl; Alwin Köhler; Robert Krause; Bernd Lamprecht; Johannes Pröll; Hannes Schmidt; Ivo Steinmetz; Evelyn Stelzl; Heribert Stoiber; Dorothee von Laer; Johannes Zuber; Thomas Müller; Volker Strenger; Michael Wagner

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797

Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen-based anterior nasal self-testing programme for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, Austria, March 2021

Euro Surveill. 2021 Aug;26(34):2100797. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797.

Authors

Peter Willeit^{1

2}, Benoît Bernar³, Christoph Zurl^{4

5

6}, Mariam Al-Rawi^{7

8}, Andrea Berghold⁹, David Bernhard^{10

11}, Wegene Borena¹², Christian Doppler^{10

11}, Reinhold Kerbl¹³, Alwin Köhler^{7

8}, Robert Krause^{4

5}, Bernd Lamprecht¹⁴, Johannes Pröll¹⁰, Hannes Schmidt^{15

7}, Ivo Steinmetz¹⁶, Evelyn Stelzl¹⁶, Heribert Stoiber¹², Dorothee von Laer¹², Johannes Zuber^{17

7}, Thomas Müller³, Volker Strenger¹⁸, Michael Wagner^{15

19

7}

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Epidemiology Team, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
² Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
³ Department of Pediatrics I, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
⁴ Section of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
⁵ BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria.
⁶ Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of General Paediatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
⁷ Vienna Covid-19 Detection Initiative, Vienna, Austria.
⁸ Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
⁹ Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
¹⁰ Center for Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria.
¹¹ Division of Pathophysiology, Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria.
¹² Institute of Virology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
¹³ Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LKH Hochsteiermark, Leoben, Austria.
¹⁴ Department of Pulmonology, Kepler-University-Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria.
¹⁵ Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁶ Diagnostic and Research Institute of Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
¹⁷ IMP - Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁸ Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.
¹⁹ Center for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.

PMID: 34448449
PMCID: PMC8393891
DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.34.2100797

Abstract

This study evaluates the performance of the antigen-based anterior nasal screening programme implemented in all Austrian schools to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections. We combined nationwide antigen-based screening data obtained in March 2021 from 5,370 schools (Grade 1-8) with an RT-qPCR-based prospective cohort study comprising a representative sample of 244 schools. Considering a range of assumptions, only a subset of infected individuals are detected with the programme (low to moderate sensitivity) and non-infected individuals mainly tested negative (very high specificity).

Keywords: Antigen-based test; Children; PCR-based test; SARS-CoV-2; School; Sensitivity; Specificity.

MeSH terms

Austria
COVID-19*
Humans
Prospective Studies
SARS-CoV-2*
Schools
Self-Testing