ICMR Approves Rs 450 Antigen COVID-19 Testing Kit With Result In 30 Minutes
ICMR has approved a new cheap, rapid COVID-19 testing kit for India
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recommended all the states to start using rapid antigen testing in all containment zones and hospitals.
Reuters
Known as Standard Q COVID-19 Ag kit, each of the unit costs Rs 450 and gives out results within 30 minutes of conducting the test.
With this, ICMR aims to increase COVID-19 testing in the country as a record number of fresh COVID-19 cases are added to the tally every other day. Since the ICMR recommended antigen detection test does not require any specialised machine, it can be employed easily across centres for quick diagnosis.
A PTI report confirms that the testing kit has been evaluated for its efficiency by both ICMR and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Developed by a South Korean bio-diagnostic firm, ICMR found the antigen test ¡°to have a very high specificity with moderate sensitivity," as quoted in the report.
COVID-19 testing kit
Medical personnel puts a swab sample into a vial at a mobile COVID-19 testing center in New Delhi (Representative Image: Reuters)
ICMR has recommended the use of the rapid antigen tests in the following settings:
- All containment zones in states
- All central and state government hospitals
- All central and state government medical colleges
- All private hospitals approved by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare (NABH)
- All private labs approved as COVID-19 testing labs by ICMR and accredited by National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL)
Other COVID-19 testing kits
A medical health worker holds a test sample at a school turned test centre for COVID-19 in New Delhi (Representative Image: Reuters)
The antigen testing kits have been suggested for use in both hospitals and in containment zones. In hospitals, ICMR suggested the use of testing kits for all symptomatic Influenza Like Illness (ILI) patients. In addition, asymptomatic patients hospitalized for chemotherapy and transplants and those over 65 years with co-morbidities should also be tested.
People with similar symptoms, living in containment zones or hotspots, should also be tested with the antigen testing kit. Those in direct and high-risk contacts with co-morbidities, even if asymptomatic, should also be tested.
ICMR recommended the use of antigen kits along with the gold standard RT-PCR test as sign of those suspected for COVID-19 but tested negative by rapid antigen test. A positive test result, however, should be considered as true positive and does not need reconfirmation by RT-PCR test.
The rapid antigen test kits have already been used in the containment areas of Delhi last week. As the apex body urged all the concerned authorities to scale up testing for coronavirus patients, it mentioned ¡°it is imperative that testing should be made widely available to all symptomatic individuals in every part of the country and contact tracing mechanisms for containment of infection are further strengthened."
