How to detect SARS-CoV-2: A brief review about molecular diagnosis techniques

A new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was detected in patients with acute respiratory disease in 2019. SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that can cause fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, anorexia, fatigue and sore throat, which can be transmitted through respiration and has started to spread around the world and has become a global problem. The disease caused by SARS-COV-2 has been named Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the WHO, Covid-19 is a pandemic and it is stated that humanity has not experienced such an epidemic in the last hundred years. The coronavirus originated from bats and was transmitted to human through unknown animals in Wuhan province of China in December 2019. On January 2021, 96.658.420 confirmed cases and 2.092.062 deaths have occurred in the world. There is a growing need in the detection of SARS-CoV-2. A number of problems and difficulties are observed in the diagnosis and treatment of Covid-19. Chest tomography and molecular tests are used to detect SARS-CoV-2. The molecular techniques used are PCR-based and non-PCR-based methods. Usually detection of SARS-CoV-2 is based on PCR, but isothermal nucleic acid amplification tests have also been promising alternatives. Currently, qRT-PCR is a golden assay and it is widely used although many alternative assays have been developed for recent years. The current testing capacity and availability can not meet the unprecedented global demands for rapid, reliable and widely accessible molecular diagnosis. In addition, there is a need for a comprehensive strategy compare the molecular techniques used in the field. Since in this review we aim to give a summary of molecular diagnosis techniques to detect Covid 19 © 2022, Turk Hijyen ve Deneysel Biyoloji Dergisi. All Rights Reserved.