Table 1.
The various detection kits used for detection of COVID-19 along with advantages and drawbacks
| Diagnostic test | Developer | Advantage | Drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Real time reverse transcriptase PCR assays |
University of Hong Kong | High sensitivity and specificity | Not useful for detection COVID-19 cases with high viral loads |
| Coronavirus gene detection kit | Amoy Diagnostics (Xiamen, China) | 99.8% accuracy with limit of detection 500 copies/mL | Low sensitivity |
| Nucleic acid assay | Chinese national institute for viral disease control and prevention | Comparable sensitivity and specificity to commercial qRT-PCR kits in terms of operation and turnaround time | Moderate sensitivity |
| Real-time PCR assay | Altona Diagnostics (Hamburg, Germany) | Comparable with various real-time PCR platforms | For research use only, not for use in diagnostic procedures |
|
Real-time fluorescent RT-PCR kit |
BGI Group (Beijing) | Highly sensitive with limit of detection 100 copies/mL. Highly specific with no cross-reactivity with 54 human respiratory pathogens. High throughput | Stored at a temperature below − 20 °C |
| Nucleic acid detection kit | BGI Group | High sensitivity, wide linear range | Did not cross-react with other circulating coronaviruses |
| COVID-19 Go-Strips | Biomeme | Portable on-site testing with high sensitivity | For in vitro diagnostic use only |
| TaqMan 2019-nCoV Assay Kit | Thermo Fisher Scientific | High-throughput, low cost, high-sensitive commercial diagnostic kit | Stored at a temperature below − 20 °C |
| DiAGSure Ncov-19 detection assay | GCC Biotech limited, Kolkata, India | Low-priced COVID-19 testing kit with nearly 100% accuracy in a short span of 90 min | It cannot provide information on other diseases or infection |
| Feluda CRISPR test kit | IGIB, New Delhi, India | The test kit had 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity | The virus may only be detectable in sputum or nasopharyngeal swab but not necessarily at both locations at the same time |
| Real-time COVID-19 breath test analyzer | Breathonix, Singapore | Real-time COVID-19 breath test analyzer to detect COVID-19 within 60 s with 90% accuracy and 93% sensitivity | Not useful for detection COVID-19 cases with low viral loads |