The much-awaited Rapid Testing Kits, or RTKs, which use antibody-based blood tests for Covid-19, arrived in New Delhi at 11.30am on Thursday after missing their third deadline by a day, and will likely be used to test for coronavirus disease in areas with no or few cases -- the health ministry’s green zones -- according to an official at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The kits will be used to test people with fever, cough, and shortness of breath in 325 districts that are currently unaffected, starting with those that are in states with a high number of Covid-19 cases, explained the official, who asked not to be named. This will be the first mass testing exercise in these districts.
“Many states have started dedicated fever clinics; and the samples for rapid testing could either be lifted of people visiting those clinics or cases our front-line workers identify after screening,” added this person.
The move will significantly widen testing for Covid-19 in the country, which currently tests around 203 people per million, with most tests restricted to health care workers treating Covid-19 patients, travellers who may have visited countries with a significant number of infections, and people who may have come in contact, directly or indirectly, with an infected person.
Much of the testing is also happening in so-called containment areas which are themselves within hot spot districts with either outbreaks or clusters (called red zones by the health ministry) or districts that are not hot spots but with clusters. There are 170 hot spot districts and 207 other districts with clusters. According to the health ministry, all other districts are in the green zone. There are around 730 districts in India.
ICMR guidelines say antibody test should be run after seven days of illness, as it takes at least five to seven days for antibodies to develop after contracting an infection.
“An antibody test is not suited for diagnostic purposes but it is a useful surveillance tool for epidemiological studies,” said the ICMR official. Put otherwise, it is a quick and easy way to understand the extent to which the disease has spread.
