Rajasthan Nixes COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits: "Only 5.4% Results Accurate"

The Rajasthan government has stopped using the Rapid Testing Kits for coronavirus after they delivered inaccurate results. The Centre as well as the country's nodal testing organisation, the Indian Council of Medical Research, have been informed about the matter, the government said.

The rapid test kits had only 5.4 per cent accuracy, state health minister Raghu Sharma told reporters today.

The Indian Council Of Medical Research, the country's nodal body in the fight against coronavirus, has now asked all states not to use the new rapid antibody test for COVID-19 for two days.. The ICMR said it would investigate the issue of faulty rapid testing kits and would "definitely not ignore this defect".

Around 170 tests were conducted in the COVID-19 hotspots of Rajasthan, starting with Jaipur, since Friday, the minister said. The kits were also used for testing of patients who have already tested positive for coronavirus. But the rapid test kits found them negative, which raised questions about the credibility of these kits, the minister said.

 "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.

Rapid testing kits take roughly 15 minutes to deliver results, compared to the currently used RT-PCR tests, which are conducted in laboratories and take around 6 hours.

Since last month, after the ICMR issued tenders for the procurement of 5 lakh antibody test kits, scores of companies -- domestic and international – are queuing up to provide rapid testing kits to India.

The slow pace of the current testing system and inadequate number of laboratories have kept the rate of testing very slow in the country. Aggressive testing and subsequent quarantine is the only way to gain the upper hand over the virus, the World Health Organisation has said.

The ICMR has recommended that every resident in coronavirus hot-spots, or areas with a large number of cases, will be tested with a fast-track kit.

India has procured around 5 lakh rapid test kits, most of which are from China.