TABLE 5.
Relative costs of various SARS PCR assaysa
| Assay | No. of tests/runb | Reagent cost/run ($) | Hands-on time (h) | Labor cost/runc ($) | Cost/test ($) | Total cost/per testd ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | 176.34 | 3 | 105.00 | 6.25 | 10.43 |
| 2 | 48 | 140.86 | 3 | 105.00 | 5.46 | 9.64 |
| 3 | 48 | 140.86 | 3 | 105.00 | 5.46 | 9.64 |
| 4 | 32 | 207.78 | 1 | 35.00 | 8.37 | 12.55 |
| 5 | 32 | 199.60 | 2 | 70.00 | 9.30 | 13.48 |
| 6 | 32 | 249.47 | 1 | 35.00 | 9.81 | 13.99 |
| 7 | 32 | 1,135.61 | 1 | 35.00 | 40.37 | 44.55 |
a
All dollar figures are in Canadian dollars (= 0.72 U.S. dollars).
b
Three controls included in each run of 48 or 32 samples.
c
Based on a technologist salary of $35.00/h.
d
Includes an amount of $4.18 per specimen for RNA extraction by using a Qiagen Viral RNA kit.