India has recorded a total of 3,54,161 COVID-19 cases and Delhi alone has recorded over 40,000 cases, there is a constant surge in coronavirus cases. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a rapid COVID-19 antigen test kit which gives result in 30 minutes.
The antigen test, also known as the Standard Q COVID-19 Ag kit has been developed by SD Biosensor, a South Korean biotech firm. This decision comes as India needs to ramp up the testing facilities with the rising number of cases.
According to ICMR and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), antigen test kit has high specificity, meanwhile relatively low sensitivity. Health officials from both the organisations recommend antigen test, as it only costs Rs 450 and gives result in 30 minutes, in lieu of RTPCR test takes three to four hours.
The ICMR recommended, when a person tests negative for COVID-19 while using rapid antigen test, the individual must be tested again with RTP-CPR test. Meanwhile, if an individual test positive for COVID-19 in antigen test, it should be treated as true positive, no RTP-CRO test is required, said the health officials.
ICMR also suggests using antigen test kits in the containment zones with symptomatic people who show influenza-like symptoms and high-risk contacts with comorbidities of confirmed cases.
According to the officials, the test kit will also be used in all the hospitals to test patients with Influenza-Like Illness symptoms, asymptomatic people, patients undergoing chemotherapy and transplants, and patients over the age of 65 with comorbidities.
In a letter to Union Health Ministry, "Ramping up testing for COVID-19 in containment zones and hospitals in Delhi by use of rapid antigen detection test, " was suggested by ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava. According to PTI report, the Delhi Government will start using rapid COVID-19 antigen test in all containment zones from June 20.
