Nisha Singh
To minimise infection among individuals who handle dead bodies, it is crucial to quickly and accurately detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in dead bodies. The Smart Amplification (SmartAmp) method, which has a quick examination time, is straightforward to use, and exhibits good specificity and sensitivity, was the subject of this investigation. This technique has already been applied to clinical specimens, but it hasn't been tested on actual corpses. In this investigation, 11 autopsies or postmortem needle biopsies carried out between January and May 2021 were used to test the SmartAmp technique. Swab samples from the nasopharynx, oropharynx, or anus were obtained, and the results of the SmartAmp and qRT-PCR assays were compared. The results for the nasopharynx and oropharynx samples were identical for both techniques in every case; however, for the anal swabs, there was one instance where the results were positive for qRT-PCR but negative for the SmartAmp technique. Since anal swabs have a low viral load, the SmartAmp approach may consequently be less sensitive than qRT-PCR and produce different results. However, both methods produced identical results in the often tested nasopharynx and oropharynx specimens, indicating that the SmartAmp method is effective when evaluating dead bodies. The SmartAmp approach may be used in different scenarios when dead bodies are handled in the future, not just during autopsy.