The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday again directed all the states to stop using Chinese RT-PCR kits and return them so that it can be sent back to the suppliers.
In a letter to the state chief secretary, Dr. GS Toteja, additional director general, ICMR said that the kits were earlier the RT-PCR throat/nasal swab tests were advocated as the best diagnosis of Covid-19.
A RT-PCR test detects the virus early, and is the best approach to identity and isolates an individual testing positive for the coronavirus, the ICMR had said.
The letter said that a number of states have procured rapid antibody testing kits and on their demand, the ICMR has provided the kits with clear instructions to be used only for surveillance purpose.
But some of the states have raised issues regarding the results of the kits during testing, it said.
The evaluation of the kits from the two Chinese companies was done in field conditions and the results have shown a wide variation in sensitivity, despite early promise of good performance for surveillance purposes, Toteja in his letter said.
“Following which, the states have been asked to return the kits,” he said.
