Sagnik Nag, Amity University Kolkata
The most recently discovered strain of SARS-CoV-2 was held accountable for corona virus disease (COVID-19) and the pandemic henceforth. Ongoing infection has taken the lives of a huge number of individuals on the planet. As of now there’s so much that we don’t know about this viral infection- it’s the study of disease transmission or epidemiology, its transmission models and prototypes. Precise experimental assays and research work are required to detect specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and accurate testing is important to control the flaring pandemic of COVID-19. Noticeable political and scientific efforts are present to ensure rapid testing of infected individuals to curb the spread of the disease.
The success of this rapid testing initiative widely depends upon the test accuracy via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which detects viral ribonucleic acid (RNA). It has been observed that the differences in the viral load present in a sample can give rise to inappropriate test results in affected individuals. According to experimental research by Sue Mallett and et.al. aimed at examining at what points during the infection the virus is detectable, it was dully inferred that on an average duration of detectable virus stayed longer in the lower respiratory tract than on the upper respiratory tract. Out of 5078 studies conducted, 32 studies were included regarding 1023 SARS-CoV-2 infected participants and 1619 results from − 6 to 66 days post-symptom onset and hospitalisation. For comparative analysis of duration of positive RT- PCR from the respiratory tract (RT) and faecal samples, sample analysis and graphical representations were restricted to participants sampled by both methods. An interesting finding concluded that the duration of detection in the faecal and respiratory mucus samples varied greatly among affected individuals.
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💯 Nice read