Search for rapid antibody test kits again
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The spurt in Covid-19 cases, coupled with impending challenges like community transmission, has once again prompted the state to procure rapid antibody test kits. As antibody test kits provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) getting recalled and the validation process of indigenous testing kits still in progress, the Health Department has zeroed in on two companies for its procurement.
The government has entrusted the responsibility of choosing a quality product with Principal Secretary (Health) Rajan Khobragade. As many as 10,000 kits will be procured on a pilot basis. “The absence of the test kits has turned out to be a hindrance towards Covid-19 prevention and control.
Their unavailability also delayed the launch of the sentinel surveillance programme, which is currently being carried out by using the RT-PCR test. Considering the new scenario, rapid antibody test kit is a must,” said a health department official. At the same time, it is learnt that the state government is planning to procure the rapid antibody test kits developed by companies like Roche Diagnostics and Abbott, giving priority to the former.
“There are reports that the product of Roche is comparatively superior. But it needs to be assessed and the principal secretary has been asked to do the same. If needed, 10,000 test kits will also be procured from them,” said a source. Earlier, the state’s plan to conduct community surveillance came a cropper due to the unavailability of rapid antibody test kits. A crisis had emerged when the ICMR asked respective states to return the kits -- of the companies Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics-- provided by them citing performance issues.
The plan to procure a rapid test kit from the HLL Lifecare Limited, under the Ministry of Health, also went awry as the product failed in the quality test conducted by the State Public Health Lab. Antibody tests can detect whether a person has contracted Covid-19 before and if he/ she has recovered since. It will take only 15 minutes to conduct the test, by collecting blood from the finger. It will also determine how widely the virus has spread and will help identify the asymptomatic group having Covid-19.