MYSURU: Testing is a vital part of the fight against the spread of the new coronavirus. But government facilities in the state are still relying on old manual method for the crucial first stage of the testing process -- RNA extraction from samples -- resulting in a bottleneck in getting results. The modern automated method of RNA extraction adopted in states like Kerala takes half the time taken in the manual method.
The longer duration of the process in Karnataka not only delays the results, but exposes health workers to greater risks. The first step in the tests for COVID-19 under the common RT PCR (reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) method involves the extraction of RNA from samples and it is then converted into cDNA and loaded to PCR machine for the detection of the virus.
A status check revealed that government-designated laboratories at Bengaluru Medical College and similar institutions at Mysuru, Hassan, Shivamogga, Ballari and Kalaburagi rely on manual technique for RNA extraction. “With automated kits, the time taken to get the results can be reduced and since human intervention is minimal in it, the exposure of health workers is not much.
This is crucial since there is a scarcity of personal protective equipment,” said Dr Binukumar B K, senior scientist at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi. Dr Amruthakumari B, nodal officer of Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory in Mysuru, a designated lab, expressed a similar view. “In the current system, we have to manually add reagents to each sample, but with the automated system, we can reduce the time taken to test the samples from seven hours to just three, while doubling the number of samples extracted, “ she said. Dr CP Nanjaraj, dean of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, said they have urged the state government to supply automated extractors and are waiting for further communication. Attempts to contact state additional chief secretary (health) Jawaid Akthar went in vain.