Saliva for molecular detection of SARS‐CoV ‐2 in pre‐school and school‐age children

Agnes Delaunay-Moisan (1) , Tiffany Guilleminot (2) , Michaela Semeraro (3) , Nelly Briand (3) , Brigitte Bader-Meunier (2, 4) , Romain Berthaud (2) , Guillaume Morelle (5) , Pierre Quartier (2) , Caroline Galeotti (5) , Romain Basmaci (6) , Gregoire Benoist (7) , Vincent Gajdos (8) , Mathie Lorrot (9) , Mahmoud Rifai (2) , Matis Crespin (2) , Zakary M'Sakni (2) , Faheemah Padavia (3) , Catherine Savetier-Leroy (10) , Michelle Lorenzi (10) , Caroline Maurin (10) , Sylvie Behillil (11, 12) , Loic de Pontual (13) , Narcisse Elenga (14) , Naim Bouazza (15) , Brigitte Moltrecht (10) , Sylvie van der Werf (16, 17) , Marianne Leruez-Ville (2) , Isabelle Sermet-Gaudelus (18, 2, 19)

1 PF I2BC - Département Plateforme
2 Hôpital Necker - Enfants Malades [AP-HP]
3 CIC 1419 - CIC - Mère Enfant Necker Cochin Paris Centre
4 Equipe Inserm U1163 - Immunogenetics of pediatric autoimmune diseases
5 Hôpital Bicêtre [AP-HP, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre]
6 Hôpital Louis Mourier - AP-HP [Colombes]
7 Hôpital Ambroise Paré [AP-HP]
8 AP-HP - Hôpital Antoine Béclère [Clamart]
9 CHU Trousseau [APHP]
10 Ministère de l'Éducation nationale
11 CNR - laboratoire coordonnateur - Centre National de Référence des virus des infections respiratoires (dont la grippe) - National Reference Center Virus Influenzae [Paris]
12 CNRS-UMR3569 - Biologie des ARN et virus influenza - RNA Biology of Influenza Virus
13 Hôpital Jean Verdier [AP-HP]
14 Centre Hospitalier Andrée Rosemon [Cayenne, Guyane Française]
15 Unité de recherche clinique / Centre d'investigation clinique [CHU Necker]
16 CNR - laboratoire coordonnateur - Centre National de Référence des virus des infections respiratoires (dont la grippe) - National Reference Center Virus Influenzae [Paris]
17 GMV-ARN (UMR_3569 / U-Pasteur_2) - Génétique Moléculaire des Virus à ARN - Molecular Genetics of RNA Viruses
18 UPCité - Université Paris Cité
19 INEM - UM 111 (UMR 8253 / U1151) - Institut Necker Enfants-Malades

SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis is a cornerstone for the management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Numerous studies have assessed saliva performance over nasopharyngeal sampling (NPS), but data in young children are still rare. We explored saliva performance for SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-PCR according to the time interval from initial symptoms or patient serological status. We collected 509 NPS and saliva paired samples at initial diagnosis from 166 children under 12 years of age (including 57 children under 6), 106 between 12 and 17, and 237 adults. In children under 12, overall detection rate for SARS-CoV-2 was comparable in saliva and NPS, with an overall agreement of 89.8%. Saliva sensitivity was significantly lower than that of NPS (77.1% compared to 95.8%) in pre-school and school-age children but regained 96% when considering seronegative children only. This pattern was also observed to a lesser degree in adolescents but not in adults. Sensitivity of saliva was independent of symptoms, in contrary to NPS, whose sensitivity decreased significantly in asymptomatic subjects. Performance of saliva is excellent in children under 12 at early stages of infection. This reinforces saliva as a collection method for early and unbiased SARS-CoV-2 detection and a less invasive alternative for young children.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Agnes Delaunay-Moisan, Tiffany Guilleminot, Michaela Semeraro, Nelly Briand, Brigitte Bader-Meunier, et al.. Saliva for molecular detection of SARS‐CoV ‐2 in pre‐school and school‐age children. Environmental Microbiology, 2022, Thematic Issue on Pathogen and Antimicrobial Resistance Ecology, 24 (10), pp.4725-4737. ⟨10.1111/1462-2920.16151⟩. ⟨pasteur-04097919⟩