S-Variant Sars-Cov-2 Lineage B1.1.7 Is Associated With Significantly Higher Viral Load In Samples Tested By Taqpath Polymerase Chain Reaction

A SARS-CoV-2 variant B1.1.7 containing mutation Delta 69/70 has spread rapidly in the United Kingdom and shows an identifiable profile in ThermoFisher TaqPath RT-qPCR, S gene target failure (SGTF). We analyzed recent test data for trends and significance. Linked cycle threshold (Ct) values for respiratory samples showed that a low Ct for ORF 1 ab and N were clearly associated with SGTF. Significantly more SGTF samples had higher inferred viral loads between 1x10(7) and 1x10(8). Our conclusion is that patients whose samples exhibit the SGTF profile are more likely to have high viral loads, which may explain higher infectivity and rapidity of spread.