Background::With the ongoing worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an increasing number of viral variants are being identified, which poses a challenge for nucleic acid-based diagnostic tests. Rapid tests, such as real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), play an important role in monitoring COVID-19 infection and controlling its spread. However, the changes in the genotypes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants may result in decreased sensitivity of the rRT-PCR assay and it is necessary to monitor the mutations in primers and probes of SARS-CoV-2 detection over time.Methods::We developed two rRT-PCR assays to detect the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase ( RdRp) and nucleocapsid ( N) genes of SARS-CoV-2. We evaluated these assays together with our previously published assays targeting the ORF1ab and N genes for the detection and confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern (VOCs). In addition, we als

作者：Lu Rou-Jian；Zhao Li；Huang Bao-Ying；Ye Fei；Wang Wen-Ling；Tan Wen-Jie

来源：中华医学杂志英文版 2021 年 134卷 17期