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Get to know the COVID 19 Tests

- Dr. Danish Salim

COVID 19 has taken the world by a storm – an unexpected and unre-lenting battle is going on all over the world. As the war rages on, the only weapon we have is information. Diagnostic testing to quickly identify those infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pivotal step in controlling this disaster. Evidence has shown that the countries that sprang into action and rolled out massive testing has been quite successful in handling COVID19.

In this article, let’s try to understand the latest available tests that are being introduced in India and worldwide to tackle the COVID 19 pandemic. There are mainly 3 categories of tests available to diagnose COVID 19 infection:

1. Nucleic Acid Amplification Test

2. SARS-COV2 Antigen Test

3. SARS-COV2 Antibody Test

1. Nucleic Acid Amplification Test:

a. Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)

b. Point of care tests – 1. Truenat, 2. Gene Expert (CB NAAT - Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test)

Here is a deeper perspective into each of the NAAT test:

Despite the array of tests, there are a lot of issues when patients are infected with COVID 19 but their test reports come out at negative! This is known as false negative case and the usual reason for this are: