From Tradition to New Technology; a Paradigm Shifts in Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases

The impact of Infectious diseases knows no boundaries, as the implications involve increase in morbidity, mortality and cost of healthcare system globally. Early and accurate infection diagnosis contributes to reduction of infection burden; however, this is often not achieved using traditional methods such as culture-based methods. Emerging and reemerging infectious diseases require fast and accurate detection method, hence, the advancement of molecular testing techniques such as polymerase chain reaction, whole genomic analysis, biosensor, nucleic acid sequencing and loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) have changed the diagnosis of infectious diseases. However, unavailability and lack of adequate funding to the latest innovative methods, especially in less developed countries have been a major hurdle in the applications of such diagnostic methods. Therefore, this review will appraise both traditional diagnostic methods and the new innovative diagnostic techniques for their merits and demerits.