Laboratory Diagnosis of Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infection caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The infection manifests as a mild flu to severe acute respiratory infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. The disease spreads by droplet infection from person to person. Early diagnosis is the key for prompt management of cases and control of the spread of the virus. Currently, the laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 is based on nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) like real-time reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR). Various genes like E, N, S, ORF and RdRp are targeted as a part of screening and confirmation of cases. Furthermore, nucleic acid sequencing may be done for the identification of mutation in the genome of SARS-CoV-2. The development of serological assays and point of care molecular test will further intensify the diagnostic modalities of SARS-CoV-2.