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Updates on COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing

Eida Al Badi*

Despite the significant containment efforts, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread in many countries with varying degrees of clinical symptoms. Thus, there is an urgent need for a collaborative approach, including accurate diagnosis, epidemiology, surveillance and prevention by using high-speed technology. The RT-qPCR (the Reverse Transcription-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction) assay is considered to be the gold standard for the early detection of the virus although this technique has limited application to use as a bedside test because of the technical complexity. As a result, using qRT-PCR in SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) detection remains the most treasured because of its specificity, rapid turn-around, and reliability. Detection of IgG and IgM antibodies by various assays is also available. Moreover, these assays can show the current or past infection, vaccination responses, and identification of neutralizing antibodies titers in recovered individuals. However, the less valuable used technique in tracing viral infection, monitoring mutation and subtype classification is the viral genome sequencing. In addition, an emerging CRISPR-Cas-based assay, such as Specific High-Sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter Unlocking (SHERLOCK), might also additionally provide an alternative for rapid and point-of-care detection. In conclusion, varied methods are available for viral genome and protein detection and the selection of specific method relies on the purposes of diagnosis and prevention or monitoring of vaccination efficacy.