DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR SARS-COV-2: A CRITICAL REFLECTION

Abstract

The new coronavirus, called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was discovered in late December 2019 after cases were reported in the city of Wuhan, China. In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic, which has an official record of around 500 million cases and more than 6.0 million deaths in worldwide. An important factor in controlling the pandemic is the development of more effective and efficient diagnostic tests. In this context, this review has as its main proposal to discuss the effective differences between the possible diagnostic tests, the implications of molecular and serological methods available on the market and the analytical and clinical parameters involved in the development and application of these methods.