Table 2.
Overview of PCR assays used by laboratories in Belgium that were declared to perform SARS-CoV-2 testing in a routine diagnostic setting. Only PCR assays for which the results of the setup standard curve were shared with the NRC, were considered. The number of laboratories that use each PCR assay is listed, as well as the targeted SARS-CoV-2 genes. The PCR assays are listed in alphabetical order.
| SARS-CoV-2 PCR Assay | Number of Laboratories | Targeted SARS-CoV-2 Genes |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott Realtime SARS-CoV-2 assay (m2000) * | 3 | RdRp and N |
| Alinity m SARS-CoV-2 assay * | 6 | RdRp and N |
| Allplex SARS-CoV-2 assay * | 21 | E, RdRp, S and N |
| Allplex SARS-CoV-2/FluA/FluB/RSV assay * | 8 | S, RdRp and N |
| Aries SARS-CoV-2 LDT | 4 | E |
| Aries SARS-CoV-2 RUO * | 10 | ORF1ab and N |
| BD SARS-CoV-2 for BD Max * | 3 | N1 and N2 |
| CE-IVD Perkin Elmer SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR * | 2 | ORF1ab and N |
| Cobas SARS-CoV-2 * | 4 | ORF1ab and E |
| GeneFinderTM COVID-19 Plus RealAmp kit * | 12 | RdRp, E and N |
| Ingenius | 2 | RdRp, E and N |
| Liat Cobas SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A/B 1 | 4 | RdRp and N |
| LightMix Modular SARS and Wuhan CoV E-gene kit 2 | 5 | E |
| N1 CDC PCR | 2 | N1 |
| NeuMoDx SARS-CoV-2 * | 2 | N and Nsp2 |
| Powerchek SARS-CoV-2 Real-time PCR kit 1 | 2 | ORF1ab and E |
| R-DiaSARS-CoV-2 * | 3 | E |
| RealStar SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR kit 1.0 * | 5 | E and S |
| SARS-CoV-2 ELITe MGB kit * | 2 | RdRp and ORF8 |
| SARS-CoV-2 plus ELITe MGB * | 2 | RdRp, ORF8 |
| SARS-CoV-2 N1 + N2 Qiagen 2 | 3 | N1 and N2 |
| TaqPath COVID-19 CE-IVD RT-PCR kit * | 22 | N, S and ORF1ab |
| Viasure SARS-CoV-2 RT PCR 1 | 2 | ORF1ab and N |
| Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 * | 14 | N2 and E |
| Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV * | 11 | N2 and E |
Abbreviations: CE-IVD (CE-in vitro diagnostic), LDT (laboratory developed test), RUO (research use only). Assays that are used by only one Belgian laboratory in this harmonization effort, and hence are not listed in the Table: Allplex 2019-nCoV assay, Altostar SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Kit 1.5, Aries SARS-CoV-2 CE-IVD, Charité E gene assay, Cobas SARS-CoV-2 LDT, Diagenode Diagnostics RUO, FLOW, GenomEra SARS-CoV-2, Simplexa COVID-19 Direct, TAC-Respi TLDA-Respi array, UC on Cobas 6800, Viasure SARS-CoV-2 N1 + N2, VitaPCR Credo and several homemade/LDT PCRs. The assays that fulfilled the inclusion criteria for downstream analysis are highlighted with an asterix (*). Reason for exclusion: 1 Although more than one laboratory shared data, less than two laboratories measured each dilution series two or three times. 2 The standard deviation of the results contributed by the different laboratories exceeds 2.