SALIVA TESTING FOR COVID-19

Saliva-Based Testing

Delayed detection of SARS-CoV-2 has been a major hindrance in curbing the current COVID-19 pandemic. Widespread testing is the most practical way out of the current crisis. The current gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis is real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detection of SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal swabs. However, collecting nasopharyngeal swabs causes discomfort to patients due to the procedure’s invasiveness, limiting compliance for repeat testing, and the procedure presents a considerable risk to healthcare workers. Therefore, developing rapid and convenient ways of testing for COVID-19 will greatly enhance the capacity of testing. Alternatively, saliva is a promising candidate for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics because (1) collection is minimally invasive and can reliably be self-administered and (2) saliva has exhibited comparable sensitivity to nasopharyngeal swabs in detection of SARS-CoV-2. Recently, saliva-based testing has been developed for use at testing sites or in a health care provider’s location, thus making it ideal for point-of-care or large-scale population testing.