Covid-19 Testing Continues To Be A Pressing Issue

One of the key constraints for Indian researchers and manufacturers to develop quickly testing kits in the country is dependency for raw materials such as enzymes, antigens, antibodies etc., required for research and manufacturing. All this is leading to delays in development of high quality and affordable testing solutions. Government should provide necessary support to develop the “ancillary” support for the researchers and manufacturers so that India can become self-reliant.

- Dr P. Siva Kumar

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended that each country assess its risk and rapidly implement the necessary measures and prepare for a testing and clinical care surge to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Diagnostic testing will enable mitigation of COVID-19 virus spread and will facilitate achieving a level of preparedness and responsiveness to effectively identify, manage and care for new cases of COVID-19. The need for universal and massive testing across the population has, therefore, led to a race for technology innovations for COVID-19 diagnosis.

However, there have been several challenges with respect to the quality of certain types of tests and supply chain issues. Hopefully, as the days pass by, the situation could improve and stabilize.

Given that the virus is new, and the tests are still very new to the scene, it is important to note that the true clinical sensitivity is unknown. Therefore, the accuracy of results from the technologies that are available may not be of the desired levels. It is essential that aggressive research work is undertaken to enable the development of more accurate and reliable technologies.

As most of us are aware, by now, RT-PCR technology detects the virus while it is circulating in the body and enables diagnosis of the disease for appropriate treatment. RT-PCR test aids the identification of individuals who are infected, the management of patients, and implementation of mitigation strategies for preventing the spread of the disease.