Laboratory Diagnosis of COVID-19: Current Issues and Challenges
Open Access
- 26 May 2020
- journal article
- editorial
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Journal of Clinical Microbiology
- Vol. 58 (6)
- https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.00512-20
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak has had a major impact on clinical microbiology laboratories in the past several months. This commentary covers current issues and challenges for the laboratory diagnosis of infections caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the preanalytical stage, collecting the proper respiratory tract specimen at the right time from the right anatomic site is essential for a prompt and accurate molecular diagnosis of COVID-19. Appropriate measures are required to keep laboratory staff safe while producing reliable test results. In the analytic stage, real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays remain the molecular test of choice for the etiologic diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection while antibody-based techniques are being introduced as supplemental tools. In the postanalytical stage, testing results should be carefully interpreted using both molecular and serological findings. Finally, random-access, integrated devices available at the point of care with scalable capacities will facilitate the rapid and accurate diagnosis and monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 infections and greatly assist in the control of this outbreak.Keywords
This publication has 71 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evaluation of Swabs, Transport Media, and Specimen Transport Conditions for Optimal Detection of Viruses by PCRJournal of Clinical Microbiology, 2012
- Comparison of Nasopharyngeal and Oropharyngeal Swabs for the Diagnosis of Eight Respiratory Viruses by Real-Time Reverse Transcription-PCR AssaysPLOS ONE, 2011
- Differentiation between Human Coronaviruses NL63 and 229E Using a Novel Double-Antibody Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Based on Specific Monoclonal AntibodiesClinical and Vaccine Immunology, 2011
- Examination of seroprevalence of coronavirus HKU1 infection with S protein-based ELISA and neutralization assay against viral spike pseudotyped virusJournal of Clinical Virology, 2009
- Immunofluorescence Assay for Detection of the Nucleocapsid Antigen of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-Associated Coronavirus in Cells Derived from Throat Wash Samples of Patients with SARSJournal of Clinical Microbiology, 2005
- Persistent shedding of viable SARS-CoV in urine and stool of SARS patients during the convalescent phaseEuropean Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 2005
- Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Protein in SARS Patients by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayJournal of Clinical Microbiology, 2004
- Serology of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome: Implications for Surveillance and OutcomeThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2004
- SARS: epidemiologyRespirology, 2003
- Enteric involvement of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus infectionGastroenterology, 2003