Diagnostic Measures for COVID-19: Current Status and Advances

The outbreak of COVID-19 in China and its gradual spread over the entire globe, irrespective of age, sex or origin, has posed a major threat to the health of the entire human population. Investigations subsequent to the virus outbreak revealed that the unknown etiology was a novel coronavirus, later referred to as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The treatment and survival of patients have been largely dependent on an accurate diagnosis of this infection, both in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Thus, highly sensitive and specific laboratory diagnostic methods are imperative for the accurate diagnosis of this condition. This manuscript focuses on various molecular and diagnostic imaging tools for reliable diagnosis of COVID-19 and the correlation of their outcomes with those from previous coronavirus epidemics. The molecular diagnostic tools include real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), ELISA based detection of early humoral response and DNA sequencing. The manuscript will also focus on national and international policies of testing, additional developments, issues and challenges faced in the diagnosis of COVID-19. The chapter will, therefore, highlight the current regime followed, developments and the probable lacunae that, if overcome, could improve the diagnostic schema of this disease.

Keywords: COVID-19, CRISPR, CT scan, Diagnosis, ELISA, FELUDA, Oximetry, RT-LAMP, RT-PCR, SARS-CoV-2, SHERLOCK.