Up to nine in 10 Covid cases of US students may be missed by symptom-based reporting

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-09-23 01:00

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CDC / istock

Screening school staff and students each week - using saliva-PCR testing plus wastewater and air sampling - was linked with an increased detection of Covid-19 cases compared to conventional symptom-based reporting, according to a US study of three US schools. The authors say these results suggest that as many as nine in 10 student cases, and seven in 10 staff cases, may be missed by standard reporting strategies (passive case finding). The just-published study was carried out late in 2020, before the Delta variant was in the US.

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conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Omaha Public School District, US; University of Nebraska Medical Center, US

Funder: Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Ms Carstens reported receiving grants from Omaha Public Schools during the conduct of the study. Dr Lawler reported receiving grants from the Susan Buffett Foundation during the conduct of the study, stock options for an advisory role from Kinsa Health, and personal fees from Takeda Pharmaceuticals for membership on a scientific advisory committee outside the submitted work. Dr Campbell reported receiving partial funding for the NULirt software platform used in this study through the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (NULirt is a registered invention with the University of Nebraska Medical Center). Dr Santarpia reported receiving grants from the Sherwood Foundation during the conduct of the study. Dr Bartelt-Hunt reported receiving grants from Omaha Public Schools during the conduct of the study. Dr Wiley reported being CEO of PraesensBio LLC outside the submitted work. Dr Broadhurst reported receiving grants from Omaha Public Schools during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported. Funding/Support: This project received funding from the Sherwood Foundation. Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funding source had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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