Coronavirus: What Is An RT-PCR Test? Know More

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan told the media on Tuesday that India would be self-reliant when it comes to the manufacture of RT-PCR Testing Kits used for detecting COVID-19 by the end of May.

What is an RT-PCR test?

The test used to detect coronavirus is real time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR), and is widely considered as the most accurate laboratory method.

How does RT-PCR work?

Real time RT-PCR uses special markers for quick time results in the detection of coronaviruses. Using real time RT-PCR, scientists convert the single-strand RNA in the virus to two-stranded DNA, through the process of 'reverse transcription'. This helps in detecting viruses and tracking them.

In the test, scientists collect a sample from a person's nose or throat, a most likely place for viruses. The extracted RNA is then reverse transcribed to DNA using a specific enzyme. Markers are added to the strands, which are then used for the detection of the virus.

The processed mixture is placed in an RT-PCR machine and run through specific chemical reactions that create new, identical copies of the target sections of viral DNA, eventually creating around 35 billion new copies of the sections of viral DNA of the virus present in the original sample.

Time taken

In about three hours the real time RT-PCR technique can deliver accurate results. Certain laboratories take longer—eight to ten hours—for the completion of the entire process and for accurate detection of coronavirus. The entire process is a sensitive, as also a very refined one.