India needs faster testing to deal with coronavirus

The low test rate of coronavirus in India continues to be a matter of constant discussion. Why did India start the screening so late? Why is the number of testings so low? From January 18 to March 23, India received 15 lakh people from abroad. Were all of them examined? Are these people under supervision of the health department?

Neetu Singh
| Updated: March 30th, 2020

The battle against coronavirus is faced with a unique challenge. Since the test results of suspected cases take time — a few days in most cases — there is the risk of those turning positive spreading the virus in the interim period. Also, there is the question of how those being tested can be accommodated while they wait for the result.

A test report of a sample is taking 4 to 5 hours in Delhi’s AIIMS, but in most labs across the country, these reports are taking five days. This is a stark contrast to the situation in a country like South Korea, where the test result is made available within an hour.

If a person is found infected, it would be difficult to identify those who have been in contact with him/her. If this problem is not taken into account soon, the situation may get scarier soon as the virus spreads.

“There are adequate kits to test all the cases coming to our labs now. The problem is that the report takes a minimum of four to five hours at AIIMS Delhi, while, elsewhere, it takes two to five days because the process is complicated,” Dr. Srinivas Rajkumar, general secretary, Resident Doctors Association, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (RDA, AIIMS), New Delhi, told Gaon Connection.

“Where will the patients wait if the report takes this long? How many people will they touch because they do not know if they are infected? Therefore, the first attempt should be to make the testing process rapid in order to control the spread of this disease. Now, in some labs, 800-1000 reports are pending,” he said.

The low test rate of coronavirus in India continues to be a matter of constant discussion. Why did India start the screening so late? Why is the number of testings so low? From January 18 to March 23, India received 15 lakh people from abroad. Were all of them examined? Are these people under supervision of the health department?

The first case of coronavirus in India was detected as early as the last week of January. Why then was there so much negligence in the screening process? Many such questions have not yet been answered by the government.

This map shows the number of labs that have been set up across the country in order to test Covid-19 cases. Those in blue are the private labs

There were only three positive cases in Italy on February 15, while South Korea had 28. There are now over 9,000 cases in Korea and 129 deaths, which is far less than in Italy. What did Korea do that Italy could not? Clearly, what it did better was testing more and more people.

South Korea has had the highest testing rate, which is now being appreciated all over the world. South Korea ensured thousands of testing kits even before the number of positive patients touched double figures. It set up more than 600 testing centres, and has screened more than 3 lakh people so far.

In the early stages of the outbreak, South Korea was conducting about 4,000 tests for every 10 lakh people; in India, it was just five to 10 people. So, India’s testing level has been negligible. If India does not improve its testing rate like South Korea soon, it will not be long before the country is faced with a situation like in Italy.

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) says the first tests were conducted in India on those who had returned from countries with high impact of coronavirus or those who had come in contact with people infected with the virus. Again from these people, only those with symptoms of coronavirus, such as dry cough, fever or shortness of breath, were tested.

The World Health Organization has said India’s 21-day lockdown is not the complete solution to the problem. More and more people are required to be screened in order to deal with COVID-19. In view of the alarming situation, the ICMR on March 26 allowed 35 private laboratories to test for the virus. The testing fee has been fixed at Rs.4,500. In addition, 50 institutions in the country have been converted into government labs. The first and second testing will be made free of cost in government labs.

Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, along with his colleagues, is contributing to this battle against coronavirus

Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, national president of the Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum (PMSF) and a former AIIMS doctor, said: “The steps for testing that the government has taken now should have been taken long back. One million testing kits have been ordered on behalf of the government, but how long will they take to arrive? We are only testing patients suffering from fever, shortness of breath, cough. Unless there is massive testing and infected people are kept in isolation, this chain will not break.”

In India, about three per cent of tested cases have been positive, a figure equal to South Korea’s. These cases of infection are, however, 58 per cent less than in the US, 25 per cent less than in China and 23 per cent less than in Italy.

On the existing arrangements for testing kits in India, Dr Srinivas said: “A US company is making kits that we are in the process of procuring. The kits made by a company in India have also been given approval. Recently, the Indian Council for Medical Research also allowed private labs to carry out testing.”

“The protocol for testing has also been changed. Now, patients admitted in hospital and hospital staff showing symptoms of coronavirus are also being examined. The lockdown has been done so that it does not spread to other people. The lockdown will not end the disease but it will help weaken its impact.”

More than six lakh people have been infected around the world, while the death toll has crossed 25,000. In India, patients infected with this virus have grown to more than 1,000, with over 25 deaths.

South Korea ranks eighth, worldwide in coronavirus cases. There was neither a lockdown nor a ban on people’s movement. The focus was on quick and high number of testing, immediate treatment and reducing possible deaths.

The ICMR had recently released data on one of its research suggesting that if social distance and self-quarantine were strictly adhered to, there could be an 89 percent fall in the number of coronavirus cases

As per The Times of India, while India is testing 5,000 people a week, the US is getting 26,000 tests done in a week, and the UK has 16,000 people being tested. South Korea is testing about 80,000 people every week, while in Germany, the number is 42,000 and about 52,000 in Italy.

Addressing a press conference hosted by the central government on March 22, Dr Balram Bhargava, director general, ICMR, said India has the capacity to test 60-70,000 people per week.

“The government is refusing to admit that we are at a stage of community transmission. Had that not been the case, the government would not have taken a big step like the lockdown,” Dr Bhatti said.

The ICMR had recently released data on one of its research suggesting that if social distance and self-quarantine were strictly adhered to, there could be an 89 percent fall in the number of coronavirus cases.

“The prevention of this disease is the only remedy. All people must follow the lockdown and social distancing strictly. This is the only way to protect ourselves. We feel thankful that our country has so far fared better than many other countries,” said Dr. Ved Prakash, the head of the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, King George Medical University, Lucknow.

“Now, the cases under investigation have increased. We are also examining patients who have pneumonia. More than 12,000 tests have been conducted so far in UP,” he said.

“Currently, we do not have enough vaccines and medicines, so the lockdown is the only way to prevent this virus from spreading. By the time the lockdown ends, we would have arranged all the facilities still lacking,” said Dr. Srinivas Rajkumar of AIIMS.

For more information on coronavirus, contact the official website https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.