MAIN BODY: The illustrations of each testing were presented to provide the readers with an understanding of the scientific principles behind the testing methods. The comparison was made by highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each testing. ELISA is ideal for performing the maximum population screening to determine immunological capacity, although its inability to provide reliable results on the status of the infection. Recently, LFIA has been approved as a quicker way of determining whether a patient is infected at the analysis time without using particular instruments and non-laboratory settings. RT-PCR is the gold-standard approach in terms of sensitivity and specificity.
CONCLUSION: However, the combination of LFIA or ELISA with RT-PCR is also proposed in this review to obtain an adequate level of sensitivity and specificity.