SHILLONG: Meghalaya has started using rapid test kits though the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday asked the states to wait for two days.
Updating the media on coronavirus, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday said that as many as 7,500 rapid test kits were allotted to the state and the government has immediately started using them.
The ICMR on Tuesday advised states not to use them for the next two days, saying it will issue an advisory after their teams carry out field validation of the equipment.
Addressing the media, ICMR Chief Scientist Raman Gangakhedkar said, “We had received complaints from one state on Monday. On Tuesday, we asked two more states if they also experienced the problem. The difference in results of RT-PCR positive samples is huge, 6 to 71 per cent, at some places. We have advised states to halt its use for two days.”
A lot of variations were observed in results of positive samples, tested by RT-PCR which was not good, he said and added, the ICMR would be in a position to give any advisory in at least two days.
The kits would be tested and validated by the on-ground teams instead of labs as Covid-19 was a new disease and the testing kits required to be refined, he said.
“We will deploy teams of our 8 institutes for on-ground validation of kits. If problems were found, those batches of kits would be sent to the manufacturing company for replacement,” Gangakhedkar said.
When West Bengal accused the ICMR of sending faulty kits, it refuted the charges saying the kits should be stored in below 20 degree Celsius temperature to get accurate results.
It also said if the variation in results was not big then there was no need to worry.
But now the ICMR has said any new observation about the testing kits would not be taken lightly and would be cross-checked thoroughly. (With IANS inputs from Delhi)
