Published on December 2020 | Infectious Diseases, Diagnostics

COVID-19 : An Overview of Diagnostic Approach and Novel Directions for Treatment Strategies

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) turned out to be one of the biggest biological disasters in the era of the 21st century in relevance to the threat faced worldwide. The pace of the spread of the pathogen is at an alarming rate and leading to the pandemic situation throughout the globe. In order to start any treatment procedure, a clear diagnosis for the identification and isolation of the disease is the utmost. Early detection and diagnosis of the pathogen are necessary for the further reduction in the outgrowth of cases among the populace. However, there are substantial advancements taking place in the technological aspects of the novel assays and the development of diagnostic applications. The clinical diagnosis is meant to be the first diagnostic procedure wherein the suspect is examined for clinical manifestation such as cough, fever, difficulty in breathing, etc., and CT scan. Novel laboratory assays like real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR) are fast, reliable, and sensitive tests for detection. In cases, where there is a negative correlation with respect to the nucleic acid detection methods for the diagnosis, but the epidemiological link of the infection is effective, the tool of immunodiagnostics and serology plays a crucial role in making use of the antibodies, and viral antigens for the detection. Another approach in the identification and diagnosis of the SARS-CoV2 is the preliminary examination of the pathogen following the classical Koch’s postulates and further analysis using electron microscopy. Sequencing of the entire genome of viruses may also inform studies of the molecular epidemiology of the virus. The last part of the review article incompasses novel directions for treatment strategies