The RT-PCR is an extremely sensitive test and continues to be the gold standard for detecting COVID. “The nasopharyngeal test is the best indicator, but depends on how the health worker takes the swab. The kits and equipment should be handled carefully as it amplifies many times. Error in any stage will makes positive cases into false negatives,” explained Atal Incubation Centre-CCMB CEO Dr. N. Madhusudhana Rao on Wednesday.
From the beginning of the pandemic, the CCMB has trained many government healthcare personnel and others in conducting this test. “We are not sure whether everyone has the expertise to handle the swabs and also in using the equipment. It is taking two days for the samples to be collected and another two days for the results to come out during this second wave. We should also consider that from 100 samples, most labs are doing up to 500 samples now, and these heavy work loads are bound to be reflect on the personnel too,” he said.
Therefore, it is up to the diagnostic labs to ensure ‘quality’ control at each stage of sample collection, check whether the kits are active and not expired and equipment handling is done by well trained hands. “While it is possible some variants of concern can escape the RT-PCR tests, we do not have sufficient numbers to indicate so based on the available data,” he said in the virtual meeting organised by CSIR-IICT.
The CEO said that there was a notion that the new virus variant is going into the body from the mouth or nose quickly hence the RT-PCR tests were not able to detect but this is not true. “The ICMR cleared dry swab tests developed by the CCMB could be the game changer as it not only drastically brings down the costs, but takes less time and make it less complicated to handle so may be we can prevent mishandling,” he added.
