Sri Guru Ram Das institute begins rapid antibody testing

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 19

The Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Vallah, has started rapid antibody testing with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-recomended kits, said Dr AP Singh, dean of the institute.

Dr Singh said the sensitivity of the test was 86.43 per cent, while specificity was 99.57 per cent and the test result could be obtained within 15 minutes with an accuracy of 91.61 per cent. He said the test would be used as an aid in the diagnosis of the coronavirus infection.

“This test is based on the principle of capture immunoassay for determination of Covid-19 antibodies in human blood, serum and plasma. Antibodies can be detected as early as one week after the infection with slide difference between individuals and positive results indicate that the infection is with coronavirus,” he added.

He said the institute had a designed special chamber for testing which could be performed with least human exposure following the concept of breaking the chain. The rapid testing kits were recently approved by the ICMR, which require minimal infrastructure and manpower. Talking about the immunity of general public, Dr Singh said, “It is not yet clear the duration of the immunity period after the Covid infection. The studies have indicated that people who survived the 2003 sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak had antibodies in their blood for years after recovery. Both SARS and Covid-19 are caused by coronaviruses, but it is too early to say if Covid-19 will generate a similar immune response.”

He said, “Reports also indicate that some people have been infected with the coronavirus twice, meaning these particular patients did not develop any immunity at all.”