Exiprep 96 lite

Nucleic acids were extracted using an ExiPrep™ 96 Viral DNA/RNA Kit through ExiPrep™ 96 Lite (Catalog No. A-5250) (Bioneer, Seoul, Korea) as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Extracted RNA was subjected to multiplex real-time PCR utilizing fast-track respiratory pathogens 21 kit (Fast-track Diagnostics, Luxembourg) that enables the detection of influenza A (H1N1) virus; influenza B (Flu B) viruses; human rhinoviruses (HRV); human coronaviruses (CoV-229E, CoV-NL63, CoV-HKU1, and CoV-OC4); human metapneumoviruses (hMPV) A/B; human parainfluenza viruses (PIV-1, PIV-2, PIV-3, and PIV-4); human bocavirus; human adenovirus; respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A/B; enterovirus; human parechovirus; and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Amplification was performed using the QuantStudio 12K Flex Real-Time PCR System (Applied biosystem—Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, USA).

Nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs were collected for PCR testing and placed in Universal Transport Medium (UTM). Aliquots of UTM were: (1) extracted on KingFisher Flex (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA), MGISP-960 (MGI, China), or ExiPrep 96 Lite (Bioneer, South Korea), followed by testing with RT-qPCR using TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kits (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) on an ABI 7500 FAST (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA); (2) tested directly on the Cepheid GeneXpert system using the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 (Cepheid, USA); or (3) loaded directly into a Roche cobas 6800 system and assayed with the cobas SARS-CoV-2 Test (Roche, Switzerland). The first assay targets the viral S, N, and ORF1ab gene regions. The second targets the viral N and E-gene regions, and the third targets the ORF1ab and E-gene regions.
All PCR testing was conducted at the Hamad Medical Corporation Central Laboratory or Sidra Medicine Laboratory, following standardized protocols.

Nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs were collected for PCR testing and placed in a universal transport medium (UTM). Aliquots of UTM were as follows: (i) extracted on KingFisher Flex (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA), MGISP-960 (MGI, China), or ExiPrep 96 Lite (Bioneer, South Korea) followed by testing with real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) using TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kits (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) on an ABI 7500 FAST (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA); (ii) tested directly on the Cepheid GeneXpert system using the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 (Cepheid, USA); or (iii) loaded directly into a Roche cobas 6800 system and assayed with the cobas SARS-CoV-2 Test (Roche, Switzerland). The first assay targets the viral S, N, and ORF1ab gene regions. The second targets the viral N and E gene regions, and the third targets the ORF1ab and E gene regions. All PCR testing was conducted at the Hamad Medical Corporation Central Laboratory or Sidra Medicine Laboratory, following standardized protocols.