Fast, effective and low-cost molecular diagnosis of COVID-19 and strategies for large-scale population testing

The greatest success in controlling the pandemic triggered by the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), called COVID-19, has been observed among countries with a great capacity to offer tests to the population, such as South Korea (Normile, 2020). However, with the growing need for inputs, often imported, for testing, countries capable of redirecting the domestic industry to produce their own inputs have managed to satisfactorily alleviate the demand for tests, as is the case of Germany, South Korea and Singapore (Editorial in Nature) (2020). However, most countries do not have the technological capacity to be self-sufficient in the production of tests, particularly the RT-qPCR test by TaqMan®, which is mostly used and recommended by the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) (Reusken et al., 2020). Thus, there is an urgent need to develop tests that use alternative inputs and that, ideally, are at the same time fast, efficient and of low cost. In Brazil, dependence on the import of inputs has been one of the main limitations for carrying out the diagnostic tests for COVID-19, as it at the same time delays and makes the process more expensive. In view of these limitations, our proposal is to develop a method based on molecular biology with the RT-LAMP methodology (reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification; RT-LAMP), which does not depend on sophisticated equipment and can be performed anywhere in the country, even in those with little infrastructure (Hong et al., 2004; Lamb et al., 2020; Shirato et al., 2014; Silva et al., 2019a; Zhang et al., 2020). In addition, we will produce the enzymes necessary for the test. We will also test the sensitivity of the test with pools of 5 to 20 samples together, which could make it possible to increase the screening of a large number of cases and identify population groups at higher risk. The development of these protocols will create technological knowledge for the development of rapid molecular diagnostic methods for the nationally produced COVID-19, easily adaptable to other pathogens, thus contributing to the country's preparation to face similar crises in the future, as well as to develop approaches to population screening that can guide the control of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. (AU) we will produce the enzymes necessary for the test. We will also test the sensitivity of the test with pools of 5 to 20 samples together, which could make it possible to increase the screening of a large number of cases and identify population groups at higher risk. The development of these protocols will create technological knowledge for the development of rapid molecular diagnostic methods for the nationally produced COVID-19, easily adaptable to other pathogens, thus contributing to the country's preparation to face similar crises in the future, as well as to develop approaches to population screening that can guide the control of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. (AU) we will produce the enzymes necessary for the test. We will also test the sensitivity of the test with pools of 5 to 20 samples together, which could make it possible to increase the screening of a large number of cases and identify population groups at higher risk. The development of these protocols will create technological knowledge for the development of rapid molecular diagnostic methods for the nationally produced COVID-19, easily adaptable to other pathogens, thus contributing to the country's preparation to face similar crises in the future, as well as to develop approaches to population screening that can guide the control of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. (AU) which may make it possible to increase the screening of a large number of cases and to identify population groups at greatest risk. The development of these protocols will create technological knowledge for the development of rapid molecular diagnostic methods for the nationally produced COVID-19, easily adaptable to other pathogens, thus contributing to the country's preparation to face similar crises in the future, as well as to develop approaches to population screening that can guide the control of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. (AU) which may make it possible to increase the screening of a large number of cases and to identify population groups at greatest risk. The development of these protocols will create technological knowledge for the development of rapid molecular diagnostic methods for the nationally produced COVID-19, easily adaptable to other pathogens, thus contributing to the country's preparation to face similar crises in the future, as well as to develop approaches to population screening that can guide the control of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. (AU) easily adaptable to other pathogens, thus contributing to the country's preparation to face similar crises in the future, as well as to develop population screening approaches that can guide the control of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. (AU) easily adaptable to other pathogens, thus contributing to the country's preparation to face similar crises in the future, as well as to develop population screening approaches that can guide the control of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. (AU)