Teklehaimanot Kiros, Mulgeta Kiros, Henock Andalem, Wasihun Hailemichael, Shewaneh Damite, Tahir Eyayu, Sisay Getu, Tegenaw Tiruneh
COVID-19 has still been spreading globally since its discovery. The disease has been recognized as the public health emergency of international concern. An appropriate laboratory testing as part of the critical role of laboratory medicine is providing a tremendous contribution in diagnosing and managing of medically important viral human pathogens notably SARS-CoV-2. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in the 21st century is posing serious health and socioeconomic threats worldwide. This clearly indicates a paradigm shift to global collaborative efforts especially for the development of novel antiviral drugs and vaccines to save lives globally. The current statistical data of the virus is indicating that the level of response against the virus is significantly low. This elucidates that the role of laboratory medicine to combat against the novel virus is very limited especially at developing countries like Ethiopia mainly due to the scarcity of the resources and manpower. Hence, assay selection for appropriate detection and genomic characterization of SARS-CoV-2 from the various biological specimens such respiratory and none respiratory specimens is considered as the frontline strategy to mitigate the rapid spreading of the virus. Despite novel testing assays with improved diagnostic accuracy, specificity and sensitivity are developing; inappropriate specimen collection procedure, improper specimen (inadequate volume and low quality), the presence of interfering substances or inhibitors have remained the major challenges to secure reliable results. Therefore, careful interpretation of laboratory results is fundamentally recommended due to the presence of such interfering errors in the pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical phase of testing.