The Performance of Diagnostic Tests for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the South African Population: A Scoping Review

Description

Natasha Samsunder and colleagues reviewed how well COVID tests performed in South African studies during the first years of the pandemic. Their scoping review, published in twenty twenty-three, gathered peer-reviewed work from March twenty twenty to August twenty twenty-two. Some studies tested gene or antigen detection, which finds the virus itself, while more studies tested antibody detection, which finds the body response after infection. The team compared sensitivity, meaning how often each test correctly flagged an infected person.

Sensitivity ranged widely for both test families, from poor to perfect depending on the study. Timing explained much of the spread. Gene and antigen tests worked best when samples came early in infection, while antibody tests worked better later, once the response had developed. The authors conclude that no single assay was both sensitive and specific enough on its own, so timing and test choice must be matched carefully.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC10748306