Antibody test kits: After China issues, govt taps 3 nations

NEW DELHI: India has reached out to South Korea, Singapore and Switzerland to procure antibody rapid test kits due to a delay in supply from China over quality issues, sources in the government told ET. The delay in the arrival of test kits from China is threatening to disrupt the proposed “mass testing” in the country and hence the move to get kits from elsewhere, they said.

The Indian Council of Medical Research had recommended the use of antibody rapid testing for Covid-19 in high containment zones on April 2. ICMR’s chief epidemiologist RR Gangakhedkar on Monday said the first consignment of rapid testing kits is likely to arrive in the country on April 15.

As first reported by ET, ICMR was supposed to get about 700,000 rapid antibody testing kits by April 8. However, the kits failed quality tests in China, resulting in China putting on hold its consignment. “The kits were supposed to reach India on last Wednesday; however, there seems to be a little delay now,” said a person in know of the development.

The person said stringent quality tests were initiated in China ever since it received complaints from other countries related to its quality. “China is the main supplier of testing kits. In their own internal test, they found quality issues and the kits were not supplied,” he said. ICMR on Saturday invited bids for the procurement of 4.5 million antibody test kits.

ICMR has recommended starting rapid antibody-based blood test for Covid-19 in clusters (with containment zones), and in large migration gatherings or evacuees centres. It has recommended RT-PCR test within seven days of illness for such patients and after seven days of illness, antibody tests should be conducted followed by RT-PCR. “The antibody test tells us about the nature and level of immune response that an infected person has developed,” said K Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).