UPDATE ON RAPID DIAGNOSTIC TESTING FOR COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To date, the disease has spread globally and caused 4 million deaths worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 spreads rapidly, leading to significant impacts on healthcare systems, social disruption and economic loss. To date, real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction remains the gold standard for diagnosis. However, it is costly and time consuming which result in delayed treatment and isolation of infected individuals. Hence, reliable and rapid diagnostic method is required for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2. There have been a number of COVID-19 rapid diagnostic tests developed and evaluated widely for COVID-19 diagnosis, but a number of concerns related to these products have arisen. In this review, we provide an update on the available COVID-19 rapid diagnostic tests and discuss the feasibility and acceptability of these rapid tests for COVID-19 diagnosis. Continuous global improvement in diagnostic test is crucial for rapid detection of the infection to optimize patient management and prevent the spread of disease.