An Assessment of a Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test in Bangladesh

Early detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial to prevent its spread. This study aimed to document test sensitivity/specificity, correlation with cycle threshold value from polymerase chain reaction (PCR), fitness-for-use in different populations and settings, and user perspectives that could inform large-scale implementation. In this study, we evaluated the performance of a rapid antigen detection test, BD Veritor, and compared this (and another rapid test, Standard Q) against reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) in terms of sensitivity and specificity in 130 symptomatic and 130 asymptomatic adults. In addition, we evaluated the suitability and ease of use of the BD Veritor test in a subsample of study participants (n = 42) and implementers (n = 5). At 95% confidence interval, the sensitivity of the BD Veritor and Standard Q test were 70% and 63% in symptomatic and 87% and 73% in asymptomatic individuals, respectively, regarding positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR results. Overall, the BD Veritor test was 78% sensitive and 99.5% specific compared with RT-PCR irrespective of the cycle threshold. This warrants large field evaluation as well as use of the rapid antigen test for quick assessment of SARS-CoV-2 for containment of epidemics in the country.

Automated summary

Early detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial. This study evaluated the performance of the BD Veritor rapid antigen detection test compared to Standard Q and RT-PCR. The BD Veritor test showed high sensitivity and specificity, making it a potential tool for quick assessment of SARS-CoV-2.