BENGALURU: Procurement of key medical equipment has become a big challenge for India in its fight against the novel coronavirus, because of its dependence on imports.China is the sole supplier of personal protection equipment (PPE) and N95 masks to India. The probe for the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) realtime test to confirm nCoV infection is imported from Germany and enzymes are supplied from the US and Singapore. “But Germany and US are running short of kits because of their own demand,” said a source.
“The supply lines of medical infrastructure, required are getting choked because of the huge demand from across the world. There are long queues for medical cargo and the minimum period of procurement is 7-10 days,” he said.
“Earlier the government would route its bulk purchases through certified agents who would take the risk of deferred payment or payment on landing or delivery. There are no agents now. Chinese manufacturers are demanding 100 per cent advance payment for the supply of masks and PPEs. We have identified some trusted suppliers, and they are being verified,” he added.Faced with an acute crisis of N95 masks, the government is now looking to domestic manufacturers and is roping in textile and allied industries. Masks will need certification.While the WHO has been pressing for more tests for a reasonable assessment of the spread of the coronavirus, shortage of test kits has been a roadblock.
Head of the department of neurovirology at NIMHANS, Dr V Ravi, who is also a member of the Karnataka COVID19 Special Task Force, said ideally there should have been more tests for the virus, but there are not enough kits. “We have ramped up tests for COVID-19 after March 10,” said Dr Ravi.
The senior virologist pointed out that the Indian Council of Medical Research has placed an order for 1 lakh PCR test kits, which will be distributed to 118 test centres. “Each centre is expected to carry 200 tests per day on those who are symptomatic,” he said.
The Centre on Friday announced antibody tests to confirm whether a person has a previous history of viral infection. “These test kits are imported from China and South Korea. The kits will have to be validated,” Dr Ravi said.