%0 Journal Article %A Souichi Yamada %A Shuetsu Fukushi %A Hitomi Kinoshita %A Makoto Ohnishi %A Tadaki Suzuki %A Tsuguto Fujimoto %A Masayuki Saijo %A Ken Maeda %A , %T Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity of upper respiratory specimens from COVID-19 patients by virus isolation using VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells %D 2021 %R 10.1136/bmjresp-2020-000830 %J BMJ Open Respiratory Research %P e000830 %V 8 %N 1 %X Background An outbreak of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)-associated respiratory infectious diseases (COVID-19) emerged in 2019 and has spread rapidly in humans around the world. The demonstration of in vitro infectiousness of respiratory specimens is an informative surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 transmission from patients with COVID-19; accordingly, viral isolation assays in cell culture are an important aspect of laboratory diagnostics for COVID-19.Methods We developed a simple and rapid protocol for isolating SARS-CoV-2 from respiratory specimens using VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells, a cell line that is highly susceptible to the virus. We also investigated a correlation between isolation of SARS-CoV-2 and viral load detected by real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) using N2 primer/probe set that has been developed for testing of COVID-19 in Japan.Results The SARS-CoV-2 isolation protocol did not require blind passage of inoculated cells and yielded the results of viral isolation within 7 days after inoculation. Specimens with cycle threshold (Ct) values of <20.2, determined by rRT-PCR, were predicted to be isolation-positive. On the other hand, 6.9% of specimens with Ct values >35 were virus isolation-positive, indicating that low viral loads (high Ct values) in upper respiratory specimens do not always indicate no risk of containing transmissible virus.Conclusion In combination with rRT-PCR, the SARS-CoV-2 isolation protocol provides a means for assessing the potential risk of transmissible virus in upper respiratory specimens. %U https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/bmjresp/8/1/e000830.full.pdf