Nucleic acid test

Nucleic acid testing uses molecular biology techniques (such as real-time fluorescent polymerase chain reaction, isothermal amplification, in situ hybridization, sequencing, etc.) to detect pathogenic nucleic acids in various body fluid or tissue samples to determine whether a pathogen infection has occurred. Nucleic acid testing is also applied in the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases, tumor molecular typing, and other fields. Based on different sampling routes, common clinical methods for nucleic acid collection mainly include oropharyngeal swabs and nasopharyngeal swabs, which are suitable for most people. In addition, depending on clinical needs, there are also anal swabs and blood draws (serological) for nucleic acid testing. Compared with oropharyngeal swabs, nasopharyngeal swabs stay in place for a longer time during sampling. In the detection of pathogens such as influenza and coronaviruses, nasopharyngeal swabs have a higher positive rate than oropharyngeal swabs, and a lower false negative rate.