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Review
. 2022 Jul 11;18(12):4610-4617.
doi: 10.7150/ijbs.72837. eCollection 2022.

The significance of advanced COVID-19 diagnostic testing in pandemic control measures

Hang Fai Kwok  1   2
Affiliations
Review

The significance of advanced COVID-19 diagnostic testing in pandemic control measures

Hang Fai Kwok. Int J Biol Sci. .

Abstract

During the 2 years since the start of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the scientific world made an enormous effort to fight against this disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has high transmissibility. Advancements in vaccine and treatment strategies have reduced both the hospitalization and mortality rates. However, the virus has shown its ability to evolve and evade from our COVID-19 combating armamentaria by the most common evolution mechanism-mutation. Diagnostic testing has been the first line of defense following the identification of the causative agent. Ever since, the scientific community has developed nuclei acid-based, antigen-based, and antibody-based diagnostic tests, and these testing methodologies are still playing a central role in slowing down viral transmission. These testing methods have different sensitivity and specificity and could be optimally used in areas facing different challenges owing to different level and conditions of COVID-19 outbreak. In this review, we discuss these testing methodologies as well as the considerations on how to apply these diagnostic tests optimally in the community to cope with the ever-changing pandemic conditions.

Keywords: Diagnostic testing; Pandemic conditions; SARS-CoV-2; Viral Variants.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An illustration of the changes in viral load or RNA levels during different infection phases in relation to the detection limits on real-time RT-PCR and antigen-based diagnostic tests
Figure 2
Figure 2
The pros and cons of different diagnostic testing methodologies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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