Muhammad Taimur Asad, Aamer Ali Khattak, Usman Ayub Awan, Waseem Iqbal, Zakir Ahmad, Muhammad Abbas.
Evaluation of Currently Available Molecular Assays and Performance of Sampling Approaches for Detection of Sars-Cov-2 RNA.
J Gandhara Med Dent Sci Jan ;11(1):21-5.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to identify the essential characteristics of diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2 and to discuss the limitations of currently available tests and their impact on the test selection process. METHODOLOGY: The current study was conducted at Mardan Medical Complex (MMC). One hundred nasopharyngeal-positive samples were collected from February to March 2021. Oropharyngeal swab OPS, sputum, and blood samples were collected from the participants to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA. RNA extraction of SARS-CoV-2 was done using a BigFish auto extractor. A Qiagen Thermal Cycler was used for genome amplification. Five different molecular assays, namely COVSIGN (N gene) Spain, BGI (ORF1ab gene) China, Maccura(ORF1ab, E and N gene) China, R-GENE (RdRp and N genes) France and Genuru (N gene, S gene and ORF ab/1) were used. RESULTS: 100 % positivity was recorded in the sputum of all individuals, followed by 91 % OPS and 21% blood. The highest positivity rate for different genes was observed. ROC (Receiver operating characteristic curve) was developed through SPPS version 26.00 to compare the sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSION: By comparing the results of different diagnostic kits, it was found that BGI and Maccura are the most sensitive and specific for diagnostic purposes against COVID-19.

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