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Serological tests for COVID ‐19
Author(s) -
Bond Katherine,
Williams Eloise,
Howden Benjamin P,
Williamson Deborah A
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/mja2.50766
Subject(s) - public health , unit (ring theory) , library science , medicine , sociology , nursing , psychology , mathematics education , computer science
Timely, scalable and accurate diagnostic testing is crucial in the prevention and control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic.1 With limited treatment options and no available vaccine, the accurate and timely identification of infectious patients with COVID19 is instrumental to the public health outbreak response. Isolation of patients with COVID19, contact tracing and quarantine measures, in addition to physical distancing within the community, have proven effective in reducing case numbers.2 Due to the high sensitivity and specificity in symptomatic individuals, detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) infection by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) is the gold standard method for confirming cases of COVID19.3 In contrast, serological assays have lower utility in the initial investigation of suspected cases, but are essential in the development and evaluation of therapeutic agents and to inform modelling and public health policy as this pandemic progresses.