Praveen Rai wrote the article, Ballymaloe and Iddya Karunasagar, in January 2021, elaborating more about the recent developments of covid-19 diagnosis and new technological advancements in detecting the disease. Covid-19 is an infection brought about by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome. On December 31st, the first case was confirmed in Wuhan, China. On January 30th 2020, the organization that deals with health matters worldwide declared covid-19 as an epidemic as it was clear it was spreading rampantly through contagious contamination. The confirmed cases and number of deaths rose day by day as the infection spread throughout the world. The indicators of covid-19 vary from one human being to the other, including those with fewer signs of acute respiratory distress syndrome and organ failures.
The clinical test of covid-19 focuses on epidemiological history, signs and symptoms, and laboratory tests, including computer tomography (CT) scan, nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), and serological techniques. For laboratory screening, specimens must be obtained, including blood, sputum, nasal swab and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Chest tomography (CT) is a sensitive imaging technique that detects chest abnormalities such as pneumonia-related illnesses. This method is used in health institutions to detect covid-19 infections. However, the method has its weaknesses as all covid-19 diagnoses would turn up positive as it can mistake the covid-19 viruses with the common viruses such as influenza.
The nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) are highly recommended as they are susceptible to premature viral infections as viremia is seen in the initial course of a disease. The WHO and CDC suggest that the most widely used method for covid-19 detection in many countries is reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction. It was established on two nucleocapsid protein genes (N1, N2). The reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) involves amplifying PCR-based nucleic acid, efficiently amplifying the target sequence under certain isothermal conditions, thus fast detecting covid-19 (Rai et al.). It’s paramount to do away with the mutation sites while designing the primers in RT-LAMP to expand the diagnosis.
The CRISPR-based diagnosis aims at detecting the envelope gene of covid-19, and findings are analyzed by fluorescence or through the lateral flow method. Careful examining of the tools relevant in this molecular diagnostic method is essential for accurate results. Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test and True NAT (CBNAAT) use the GeneXpert method to diagnose tuberculosis and are utterly autonomous expansion system that uses real-time PCR. This method was advocated by the Indian council dealing with medical sciences to test covid-19. Serological assays involve examining antibodies against a virus in a given patient. This test is vital in developing the covid-19 vaccine and determines the magnitude of the infection in asymptomatic people.
The point of care assay is a situation where the test is carried in the immediate surroundings, which majorly aids in monitoring the patient’s progress. The rise in the covid-19 cases called for the use of POC tests to help implement the control measures to control the spread of the infection. The lateral flow immunoassay operates based on antibody-antigen reactions; this method’s main merit is that it does not necessitate laboratories and can be easily carried outside. Chemiluminescence immunoassay works based on immunochemical reaction where enzymes convert the chemiluminescence plate to a response product, emitting photons instead of colour development. However, this method shows different degrees of accuracy on covid-19 diagnosis, thereby implementing the importance of thorough examination of the diagnostic test before use.
The article clearly shows how technology has positively impacted the diagnostic procedures of covid-19 through the following ways; computed tomography, nucleic acid amplification test, serological assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, which has made the covid-19 diagnosis fast and efficient.
Work Cited
Rai, Praveen, et al. “Detection Technologies and Recent Developments in the Diagnosis of COVID-19 Infection.” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Jan. 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7780074/.
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