A decontamination strategy for resolving SARS-CoV-2 amplicon contamination in a next-generation sequencing laboratory
Archives of Virology, Volume 167, No. 4, Year 2022
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) amplicon contamination was discovered due to next-generation sequencing (NGS) reads mapping in the negative controls. Environmental screening was undertaken to determine the source of contamination, which was suspected to be evaporation during polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays while using the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ARTIC protocol. A decontamination strategy is hereby documented to assist laboratories that may experience similar amplicon contamination. Routine molecular laboratory environmental screening as a quality control is highly recommended.