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Journal of Clinical Microbiology
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Commentary

Laboratory Diagnosis of COVID-19: Current Issues and Challenges

Yi-Wei Tang, Jonathan E. Schmitz, David H. Persing, Charles W. Stratton
Alexander J. McAdam, Editor
Yi-Wei Tang
aCepheid, Danaher Diagnostic Platform, Shanghai, China
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Jonathan E. Schmitz
bDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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David H. Persing
cCepheid, Sunnyvale, California, USA
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Charles W. Stratton
bDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Alexander J. McAdam
Boston Children's Hospital
Roles: Editor
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DOI: 10.1128/JCM.00512-20
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ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a major impact on clinical microbiology laboratories in the past several months. This commentary covers current issues and challenges for the laboratory diagnosis of infections caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the preanalytical stage, collecting the proper respiratory tract specimen at the right time from the right anatomic site is essential for a prompt and accurate molecular diagnosis of COVID-19. Appropriate measures are required to keep laboratory staff safe while producing reliable test results. In the analytic stage, real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays remain the molecular test of choice for the etiologic diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection while antibody-based techniques are being introduced as supplemental tools. In the postanalytical stage, testing results should be carefully interpreted using both molecular and serological findings. Finally, random-access, integrated devices available at the point of care with scalable capacities will facilitate the rapid and accurate diagnosis and monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 infections and greatly assist in the control of this outbreak.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal or of ASM.

  • Copyright © 2020 Tang et al.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

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Laboratory Diagnosis of COVID-19: Current Issues and Challenges
Yi-Wei Tang, Jonathan E. Schmitz, David H. Persing, Charles W. Stratton
Journal of Clinical Microbiology May 2020, 58 (6) e00512-20; DOI: 10.1128/JCM.00512-20

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Laboratory Diagnosis of COVID-19: Current Issues and Challenges
Yi-Wei Tang, Jonathan E. Schmitz, David H. Persing, Charles W. Stratton
Journal of Clinical Microbiology May 2020, 58 (6) e00512-20; DOI: 10.1128/JCM.00512-20
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KEYWORDS

COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
specimen type
molecular testing
serology
result interpretation

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