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. 2023 Dec 1;8(12):514.
doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed8120514.

The Performance of Diagnostic Tests for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the South African Population: A Scoping Review

Natasha Samsunder  1 , Nikita Devnarain  1   2 , Aida Sivro  1   3   4   5 , Ayesha B M Kharsany  1   3
Affiliations

The Performance of Diagnostic Tests for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the South African Population: A Scoping Review

Natasha Samsunder et al. Trop Med Infect Dis. .

Abstract

To determine the performance and reliability of diagnostic tests for the identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection in South Africa, we conducted a scoping review to identify published studies undertaken in the English language from March 2020 to August 2022 that evaluated the performance of antigen- and antibody-based diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2 in South Africa. We identified 17 relevant peer-reviewed articles; six reported on SARS-CoV-2 gene and/or antigen detection whilst 11 reported on antibody detection. Of the SARS-CoV-2 gene and/or antigen-based tests, sensitivity ranged from 40% to 100%, whilst for the antibody-based tests, sensitivity ranged from 13% to 100%. All tests evaluated were highly dependent on the stage of infection and the timing of sample collection. This scoping review demonstrated that no single SARS-CoV-2 gene and/or antigen- or antibody-based assay was sufficiently sensitive and specific simultaneously. The sensitivity of the tests was highly dependent on the timing of sample collection with respect to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the case of SARS-CoV-2 gene and/or antigen detection, the earlier the collection of samples, the greater the sensitivity, while antibody detection tests showed better sensitivity using samples from later stages of infection.

Keywords: RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 gene/s; antibody; antigen; diagnostic testing; scoping review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Search strategy and selection of articles for data extraction, analysis, and reporting for a scoping review according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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