Building indigenous DIAGNOSTIC CAPABILITIES

India is facing a bigger burden of not having enough diagnostic kits in hand. Specifically, there is a shortage of reagents and consumables required to carry out the diagnostic tests for COVID-19. In order to overcome this burden, India is reaching out to South Korea, USA, Germany and China to arrange for more kits in order to increase the current testing capacity for COVID-19. Although this step might help India to some extent in its current containment plan, the real need can only be fulfilled by accelerating indigenous COVID-19 diagnostics manufacturing.

- Dr Manbeena Chawla

Accurate diagnosis of coronavirus infection is a very crucial tool to help identify and control the disease. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lot of buzz regarding the possible errors in diagnoses with both reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests and the faster antibody-based tests, all over the world.

RT-PCR testing, which is considered the gold standard for diagnosis of COVID-19, is vital, but it cannot always identify asymptomatic infections or infections in people who may have now recovered. This is where probably antibody tests can help because they look for antibodies even when an individual does not display the symptoms of the infection or has already recovered. But a low accuracy from these tests could diminish their usefulness as a catch-all screening tool.

Adding to this challenge, India is facing a bigger burden of not having enough diagnostic kits in hand. Specifically, there is a shortage of reagents, consumables and equipment required to carry out the diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Expressing his concerns, Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED), New Delhi says, “Our main issue is immediate access of positive covid serum samples to in vitro diagnostic (IVD) manufacturers. Without this, no company can produce a reliable rapid test for COVID-19.”

In order to overcome such issues, India is reaching out to South Korea, USA, Germany and China to arrange for more kits in order to increase the current testing capacity for COVID-19. Although this step might help India to some extent in its current containment plan, the real need can only be fulfilled by accelerating indigenous COVID-19 diagnostics manufacturing.