Maharashtra government awaits experts’ nod to initiate rapid testing process for coronavirus

Even as some states have already started conducting rapid diagnostic tests to detect the presence of Covid-19 antibodies in patients, the Maharashtra government is yet to take a decision on the issue. Maharashtra has received the approval to acquire the rapid testing kits (RTKs) from the Centre. But the state said that it is in consultation with experts on the issue and will apply for the procurement process only after a policy is formulated on it.

The presence of antibodies could indicate if a person is infected. The central government had procured 5.5 lakh RTKs from China for antibiotic diagnosis among suspected Covid-19 patients. While Jammu and Kashmir has received the kits, Delhi has started testing on Monday.“We are yet to decide if it is a good idea to use the diagnosis, as several experts have said that these tests lead to false reporting of positive cases. This testing is not scientifically proven and needs more research. So we will wait until our expert panel decides on it. Many European countries have stopped this procedure due to loopholes in the tests. It is better to be cautious instead of rushing under pressure,” said Anup Kumar Yadav, commissioner (family welfare) and director, National Health Mission, Maharashtra.

When a person contracts Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, the body develops antibodies as a defence. In the first week, IgM antibodies are produced and gradually, IgG antibodies start growing, which remain in the body for almost a month. With the help of these two types of antibodies, it can be found if a person is infected or was infected at some point of a time.

However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), in some cases, antibodies are not produced in the bodies of patients carrying the Covid-19 pathogens. Thus the world health body issued an advisory stating, “WHO doesn’t currently recommend the use of antigen-rapid diagnostic tests for patient care.”

However according to experts, rapid diagnostic tests have been fruitful for community-based testing as it takes only 15 minutes to get the result of the analysis. This can be helpful for a state like Maharashtra where 65% of the patients have been diagnosed as asymptomatic. “Rapid diagnosis may provide a false report as sometimes antibodies don’t produce in the body within a certain window period. But in the case of analysis of a larger community, it can be helpful to understand the presence of the virus through IgM and IgG antibodies,” said Dr Lancelot Pinto, an epidemiologist from Hinduja Hospital. “It is not perfect science but can be helpful for a population with higher asymptomatic patients,” he added.