Types of COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests 1. Diagnostic Tests – To check active infection • Molecular Tests - NAAT - RT-PCR - LAMP test • Antigen Tests - Viral test - Rapid test 2. Antibody Tests – To check resolution or recurrence of virus Antibody detection test • Diagnoses previous infections of COVID-19 in symptomatic patients • Helps stats improve by merging the result with NAAT • Closely monitors course of infection in correlation of antibodies with presenting clinical complains and severity of disease • Determines prevalence in asymptomatic population • Indentifies eligible donors of convalescent plasma • Indentifies status of immune system Types of COVID-19 Antibody Detection Tests 1. Automated Directed Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (CIA); excellent specificity and sensitivity 2. Rapid Lateral-flow Assay (LFA); fast turn-around time (10-30 mins) 3. Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA); excellent specificity and sensitivity 4. Bioassays; requires expertise as limited number of laboratories offer Role of NAAT in COVID-19 Diagnosis Authorities recommend Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) for the diagnosis of COVID-19. This viral diagnostic test can be performed in laboratory settings, healthcare centers and even at home. NAAT diagnose COVID-19 by detecting the sequences of RNA in the genetic material of virus. The methods employed by NAAT to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus include; • Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) • Isothermal amplification including: o Nicking Endonuclease Amplification Reaction (NEAR) o Helicase-dependent Amplification (HDA) o Transcription Mediated Amplification (TMA) o Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) o Strand Displacement Amplification (SDA) o Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) o Strand Displacement Amplification (SDA) CDC recommends NAAT only under laboratory settings because of they are considered the most sensitive tests. Specimens for NAAT CDC does not recommend oral specimens for NAAT. The recommended specimens include nasopharyngeal swabs, anterior nasal swabs and nasal mid-turbinate swabs.