COVID-19 tests: As the world is reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic, medical terminologies like rapid antibodies test, RT-PCR test, hotspots and containment zones have come into focus.
But, these terms(RT-PCR test, hotspots and containment zones ) is not cleared among common people. Doctors explain for the common man what these testing and containment terminologies mean.
Currently, In India, Two kinds of diagnostic tests are being currently used, which are — RT-PCR test and rapid antibodies test, as per the global health norms.
‘RT-PCR’ stands for a Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction- test is a laboratory technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA that detects the virus while the antibody tests, which use blood, detect the body’s response to the virus, experts said.
“Through RT-PCR, it is tested if the virus is present or not. A sample is taken from the respiratory tract of a person, throat swab or a sample from the nasopharyngeal region and then rested. The results take about 12-24 hours,” said noted Delhi-based lung surgeon Arvind Kumar.
“On the other hand, the ”rapid antibodies’ test is less expensive and the results can come in 20-30 minutes. It essentially tests if the antibodies in response to the coronavirus infection have been generated or not. “In rapid antibodies test, the result will be positive only if the antibodies have been generated. So, even if a person is infected but the antibodies are not generated, the result will come negative,” Kumar said.
Doctors at Delhi government hospitals said from nasopharyngeal and oral samples, if either of that comes positive, that person is considered COVID-19-affected.
How well these tests work depends on several factors, including the time from the onset of illness, the concentration of virus in the specimen, the quality of the specimen collected from a person and how it is processed, and the precise formulation of the reagents in the test kits, experts said.
A hotspot is a zone from where a large number of COVID-19 cases are reported. In Delhi, till Monday night the number of hotspots stood at 47, which have been made containment zones and sealed.
‘Rapid antibodies tests are generally used in hotspots where the infection is found concentrated in a given area.
In government labs, the tests are free but at private laboratories, which use the RT-PCR test the cost is ₹4,500.
The Supreme Court on Monday modified its April 8 order that asked private labs to conduct free COVID-19 tests and said the benefit will be available only to “economically weaker sections” who are covered under a government scheme such as Ayushman Bharat.
