NEW DELHI: Analyzations of results from the evaluation of antibody test kits imported from China has been started by The Indian Council of Medical Research and will come out with its conclusions on their efficacy next week.
The ICMR’s verdict will conlude whether the antibody test kits can be used in the country and if India should procure more of them. Expert teams were also sent to eight states on the basis of complaints that the test kits sent to them had generated results that are not accurate. A government official said, “The teams have initiated a study in eight states and the results on the validity of antibody test kits will be out soon. The results of this will influence the further purchase of kits.”
The ICMR had also decided to use these kits to check the rate of positivity and the prevalence of the infection and the officials will proceed only after establishing the validity of the kits.
“The teams will see how the states have been using them because a lot also depends on temperature conditions,” said the official. The ICMR said, “it will continue to collect data from the states to assess the scope and extent of the utility of these rapid antibody tests in various field conditions and will issue updated advisories on a regular basis.”
Additional director general GS Toteja said in the letter, “ln view of this, states are advised to follow the prescribed protocol for these tests and use it for the purposes for which these are meant. It is reiterated that to contain coronavirus infection, RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests must be continued vigorously as the principal diagnostic tests.”
