Molecular Detections of Coronavirus: Current and Emerging Methodologies

Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2021 Jul 6. doi: 10.1080/14787210.2021.1949986. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION: Seven coronavirus species have been identified that can infect humans. While human coronavirus infections had been historically associated with only mild respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold, three coronaviruses identified since 2003, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), cause life-threatening severe respiratory syndromes. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 has triggered a worldwide health emergency. Due to the lack of effective drugs and vaccination, rapid and reliable detection is of vital importance to control coronavirus epidemics/pandemics.AREA COVERED: A literature search was performed in Pubmed covering the detections and diagnostics of SARS, MERS and SARS-CoV2. This review summarized the current knowledge of established and emerging methods for coronavirus detection. The characteristics of different diagnostic approaches were described, and the strengths and weaknesses of each method were analyzed and compared. In addition, future trends in the field of coronavirus detection were also discussed.EXPERT OPINION: Nucleic acid-based RT-PCR is the current golden-standard of coronavirus detection, while immunoassays provide history of coronavirus infecti...
Source: Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Source Type: research