WHO Modifies CCP Virus Test Guidelines, Warns Against Overreliance on PCR Results

WHO Modifies CCP Virus Test Guidelines, Warns Against Overreliance on PCR Results
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gives a press conference at Geneva's WHO headquarters on Feb. 24, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
Meiling Lee
Updated:
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned experts not to rely solely on the results of a PCR test to detect the CCP virus.

In updated guidance published on Jan. 20, the WHO said that lab experts and health care practitioners should also consider the patient’s history and epidemiological risk factors alongside the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in diagnosing the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.