SARS-CoV-2 live virus culture and sample freeze-thaw stability

Phyllis J Kanki; Donald J Hamel; Stefan Riedel; Sanjucta Dutta; Annie Cheng; Charlotte A Chang; Ramy Arnaout; James E Kirby

doi:10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116282

SARS-CoV-2 live virus culture and sample freeze-thaw stability

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2024 Jul;109(3):116282. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116282. Epub 2024 Mar 24.

Authors

Phyllis J Kanki¹, Donald J Hamel², Stefan Riedel³, Sanjucta Dutta⁴, Annie Cheng⁴, Charlotte A Chang², Ramy Arnaout⁵, James E Kirby³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 651 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: pkanki@hsph.harvard.edu.
² Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 651 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
³ Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁴ Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
⁵ Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Division of Clinical Informatics, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.

PMID: 38663335
DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116282

Abstract

The effect of freeze-thaw on SARS-CoV-2 viral viability is not well established. We isolated virus from 31 split clinical samples cultured fresh or after a 7- or 17/18-day freeze. We found that freeze-thaw did not significantly affect viral culture isolation. Therefore, frozen samples may be used to assess SARS-CoV-2 infectiousness.

Keywords: Freeze-thaw; SARS-CoV-2; Sample stability; Virus culture.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / virology
Cryopreservation
Freezing*
Humans
Microbial Viability
SARS-CoV-2*
Specimen Handling / methods
Virus Cultivation / methods