April 6th.2020:
ICMR
to get about 7 lakh rapid antibody testing kits by April 8. These will help in
conducting #COVID19
tests in hotspot areas where large no.of cases are being seen. ICMR will get
delivery in a phased manner. It's expected that they'll get 5 lakh kits in 1st
phase. Orders placed.
why we are using rapid
tests?
- to map the spread of the virus among those who
may not have shown any symptoms at all.
- “to check the prevalence of Covid-19 among asymptomatic
people”.
- to understand “the burden of the disease.
Why is the ICMR using serological tests and not
the regular RT-PCR test for the study?
·
“When you want to know
how many people [in a community] were actually infected, the antibody test is
much more useful as the window of opportunity is much larger,”
·
The incubation period of
the novel coronavirus – the time it takes to show up in the body – ranges
between 2-14 days. the virus shedding period (when the patient can transmit it
to others) lasts a maximum of five days.After that period, it is best to detect
an antibody.
How long do the antibodies stay? There are two types of antibodies which stay for
one year,”
Are there any previous models?
yes.a similar survey to gauge the extent
of dengue in India. The survey was done in 240 clusters .The
survey findings indicated that 49% of India’s population had been previously
Infected by the dengue virus.
What is the use of such surveys?
survey
for the novel coronavirus would help India make informed policy decisions.
it shows you patterns and you
can use it put into models.”
Mathematical
modelling forecasts the future graph of the disease.
This data could inform
practical issues such as whether and how to reopen schools”:
“Relatively few cases
have been diagnosed among children, but it isn’t clear whether that’s because
they don’t get infected or because their infections are generally so mild that
they go unnoticed. Testing children for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies should resolve
that.”
The test, “may
also help researchers understand how long immunity to the virus lasts, a key
issue for any future vaccine”
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