COVID 19 Detection – insight about various screening and testing methods.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an highly infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus which can spreads via aerosols and droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, but more concern is it can also transmit by contact with objects that infected people, who are not necessarily sick, have touched.

As it had already reached the pandemic status and the number of cases is continuously growing throughout the world, its diagnostic testing is critical in helping identify the affected person and control the spread of disease to other individuals causing serious illness.

There are mainly two types of testing principle applied for coronavirus (COVID-19) testing : molecular and serological.

In the molecular method the specific technique known as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, is used where the genetic material from a patient’s sample is copied and then it is compared to the genetic sequence of the virus you’re trying to detect.  In this process, the suspected patient with a COVID-19 infection is subject to sampling from upper and lower respiratory tract were genetic material from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is generally detectable.

While in the serological technique, the ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) based rapid card detection kits are developed which can be used to detect the antibodies Ig G and IgM from the blood of the suspected patient to test about the infection.

Both the types of methods do possess their own sets of pros and cons.

Considering the present scenario of unavailability of specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19, prevention is the best medicine one can consider rather than cure.

Stay Safe and Health following Social Distancing and Quarantine…

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