SARS-CoV-2 Testing Trials and Tribulations

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Ahmed Babiker, Emory University; Charlie W. Myers, Emory University; Charles Hill, Emory University; Jeannette Guarner, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-06-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc.
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2020.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/AJCP/AQAA052
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: American Journal of Clinical Pathology
• Volume: 153
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 706
• End Page: 708
• Grant/Funding Information: None declared
• Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; Testing; Science & Technology; Pathology; COVID-19; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Pathology; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), started in the Wuhan province of China and is now a pandemic that has caused a great number of deaths across the globe.1,2 The number of cases in the United States is increasing steadily, and the epidemic curve mimics the start of the infection in both China and Italy. Due to challenges associated with ramping up testing capacity, reliable estimates of the number of infections in the United States are not available. Multiple people, including Anthony Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have stated that testing for COVID-19 has been problematic,3 with some dubbing the situation “testgate.” Below we will explore the evolution of tests in the United States, alternative tests, the logistics of increasing testing, and issues regarding laboratory staffing in response to the increased demands of testing.