Operation and reliability of RT-PCR tests in the detection of SARS-CoV-2

The National Reference Center (CNR) for Respiratory Viruses at the Institut Pasteur specializes in viruses such as influenza and bronchiolitis in infants. As an expert center in France, the CNR is responsible for monitoring cases of respiratory infections and for epidemic surveillance. When a new virus emerges, like the novel coronavirus in China, the CNR's task is to do everything it can to detect the novel pathogen.

In response to the crisis caused by COVID-19, as soon as the first cases began emerging at international level, and especially in Europe (in late January 2020), the CNR at the Institut Pasteur developed a diagnostic test to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus (known at the time as 2019-nCoV) in suspected cases of infection.

What is an RT-PCR test and how reliable is it?

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