False-Negative RT-PCR Findings and Double Mutant Variant as Factors of an Overwhelming Second Wave of COVID-19 in India: an Emerging Global Health Disaster

RT-PCR is considered to be the standard gold diagnostic test for detecting COVID-19 causing SARS-CoV-2. Recent reports and recent pieces of evidence from scientific literature, however, tell a different story. There have been speculations of SARS-CoV-2 escaping the RT-PCR because of the series of mutations it has gone through. It is possible that host-dependent RNA editing and high person-to-person transmission have equipped the virus with mutations enabling it to spread faster and even evade the RT-PCR. Added to this is burnout among healthcare workers and technicians handling the RT-PCR machines and sampling. All of these factors may be working in unison to result in the deluge of false-negative cases India is facing during the second COVID-19 wave. The mutant strains are spreading to other parts, posing challenges to the whole world. These circumstances warrant supplementary diagnostic tests such as serological and radiological findings to deal with cases of high clinical suspicion. Even one misdiagnosed COVID-19 patient poses a risk to hundreds of others in the vicinity. Healthcare workers’ burnout also has to be dealt with. Erroneous staff should be re-trained.