Rajasthan to stop rapid tests due to invalid results, will other states follow?

After a series of inaccurate results were reported using rapid testing kits, the Rajasthan government on Tuesday stated that it would stop using these tests. The kits which were procured from China were to be used for the detection of the presence of coronavirus antibodies to determine if someone had been exposed to the virus recently.

The Rajasthan government has informed the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) about the issue. As per reports, a total of 3 lakh kits were sent from Guangzhou city in China to Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Though it is unclear which company’s kits Rajasthan has discontinued, most states in the country have got kits from two companies in China- Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics and Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co., Ltd.

Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma said the kits gave only 5.4% accurate results against the expectation of 90% accuracy and therefore the kits were of no benefit.

A committee comprising heads of medicine and microbiology departments at the Sawai Man Singh government hospital here was set up by the government to examine the accuracy of the kits and the committee found that only 5.4% test results were accurate.

“As per the advice of the committee, we have stopped testing from the rapid testing kits. We have written to the ICMR about it and their response is awaited,” the minister said.

He said 168 tests were conducted through rapid testing kits.

The kits were also used for testing of patients who have already been tested positive for coronavirus in PCR-based tests and the result was negative in their case too, which, the minister said, raised questions about the credibility of these kits.

“If the ICMR’s response comes in our favour, the kits could be returned,” he said.

Rajasthan had started conducting tests through rapid testing kits from Friday in the State’s hotspots, starting from Jaipur. The rapid testing kits, through which blood samples are tested, were aimed at speeding up screening and detection of suspected coronavirus patients.

It was not a confirmatory test and PCR based test was required for the confirmation of a positive result.

Rapid test kits are antibody-based testing kits which in theory can determine if someone has recently been exposed to the coronavirus by checking for the presence of antibodies against the virus in an individual’s blood.

(With inputs from PTI)