ICMR asks states to use rapid test only for surveillance, not diagnosis

On Tuesday, it had asked states to stop using the kits for two days after receiving complaints of poor detection and faulty results

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has told states to use the Chinese rapid antibody test kits only as a tool for surveillance and not to diagnose coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases.
 

The ICMR on Tuesday had asked states to stop using the kits for two days after receiving complaints of poor detection and faulty results. “Globally also, the utility of this test is evolving and it is currently being used for detecting the formation of antibodies in individuals. These test results are also dependent on field conditions,” a press statement said.
 

The medical research body has told states that these kits cannot replace the RT-PCR test, considered the gold standard in diagnosing Covid-19 cases.
 

The ICMR will collect data from various states to assess the scope and extent of utility of these rapid antibody tests in field conditions.

“The ICMR shall keep advising states on a regular basis. States have also been advised to follow the prescribed protocol for these tests and use it for the purposes for which they are meant,” the statement added.
 

The ICMR had said it would send its teams on the ground to take samples of these kits and validate them on the field. If a problem was found in some of the batches, then the government would ask the supplying company to replace it.
 

India had received 500,000 rapid antibody test kits from China last week. These kits were not meant for early diagnosis but for health surveillance and to understand Covid-19 trends.
 

On Wednesday, the confirmed cases of Covid-19 crossed the 20,000-mark with 650 deaths. According to health ministry data, 3,870 people have been cured with a recovery rate of 19.36 per cent. Since Tuesday, there has been an increase of 1,383 new cases, while 50 deaths have been reported.

The government has received two types of kits from Guangzhou Wondfo and Zhuhai Livzon to observe antibodies in Covid-19 patients. Both kits have a sensitivity of more than 80 per cent and specificity of around 84 per cent.
 

However, one of the tests — called IgM — detects early signs of infection by showing antibodies which do not last very long in the body.
 

The other test — called IgG — checks if the immune system is fighting an infection that is not recent or if the patient has recovered.
 

If a person tests positive, it may not mean that she is immune to the disease, as more research needs to go into the subject.