7. Challenges in Laboratory Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused over 21 million infections and 770,000 deaths as of mid-August 2020. Despite the rapid identification of the SARS-cov-2 pathogen and the development of diagnostic tools, the lack of ability to deploy diagnostics, including reagent shortages, has contributed to underestimates of local disease prevalence, and delayed implementation of interventions. This chapter will provide an overview of the more commonly used molecular and serological tests for diagnosis and surveillance of SARS-cov-2 infection with a special focus on the challenges associated with the design and execution of laboratory testing protocols including sample collection and processing, target selection, technical limitations, and differential diagnosis.