Abstract:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral pneumonia, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease spread via respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes from an infected individual. Symptoms range from mild to severe and even fatal, as at June 28, 2020, a total of 501,891 deaths have been recorded. Age, medical conditions, genes, sex and previous immunizations of an infected person affect severity of COVID-19. Early and accurate diagnosis helps to reduce health and socio-economic impacts of the disease, as inaccurate results may spike infection rate. The current article is a review on the various molecular diagnostics for detecting viral pathogens. Among these techniques, the Real Time Reverse Transcription-PCR, offers an effective and accurate method for detection and diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. There is no known cure for the disease, therefore it is advisable to take preventive measures to slow down infection rate before effective treatments and vaccines become available.