Abstract

In December 2019, an outbreak began in Wuhan, China; due to a new coronavirus and spread rapidly across the world. This virus SARS-CoV-2 is similar with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) which have caused two important epidemics in the last two decades; by their genomic structure, spread, pathogenesis. This presentation reviews current laboratory methods to test SARS-CoV-2, focusing on the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The rapid and precise laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 is required to take quarantine precautions early, to plan treatment for patients and to prevent the spread of the epidemic. A nasopharyngeal swab sample is the most common method to test viral pneumonias. When testing SARS-CoV-2 with molecular methods, nasopharyngeal samples may miss some cases; so that a deeper sample may be required by using bronchoscopy. However, bronchoscopy is more risky in terms of transmission to healthcare workers due to the aerosol it generates. Instead of bronchoscopy, repeated nasopharyngeal sampling can be performed, due to the possibility of finding SARS-CoV-2 in the nasopharynx increases in course of time. The stage of the disease from which the sample is taken is also very important for antibody tests. Due to the nature of antibody formation, after the first week samples should be run with appropriate tests. Various tests can be used to target different antigens to prevent cross reactions.