Karnataka to purchase 1 lakh antibody test kits from Sino-Biocan

Karnataka COVID-19 task force has decided to place orders for one lakh antibody test kits for COVID-19 testing from Beijing-based Sino-Biocan in the next three days. A decision to this effect was taken at the task force meeting on Friday afternoon with the CEO of the company.

"The CEO of Sino-Biocan assured us that he can make the consignment ready within three days from the date he receives the purchase order from us. It will take another three days for the cargo plane to deliver the kits. Hence, ten days from now, we are expecting to have the kits ready. These test kits are famous in Korea and Ukraine, and Korea is being lauded for its extensive testing," Dr C N Manjunath, director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences said, who is a part of the COVID-19 task force.

The test can be used for screening all those who are quarantined in the state as the test results are immediate unlike a swab test. This will save the government a lot of time.

Explaining that across the country there has been a clamour for test kits from states to the Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr V Ravi, HoD, Virology, who is also part of the COVID-19 task force, and was also part of the Friday meeting, said the antibody test kit will detect 90% of COVID-19 patients and even the other 10% of the patients can be detected if the test is done a couple of days later when the viral load increases. Explaining how it works, he said, "It is a European Union-certified antibody kit. Right now, I do not know of any other manufacturer in India who makes these kits but the technology is age-old. We have been using the same kit for testing HIV, Hepatitis B and other viruses. Even the pregnancy test is based on the same technology -- Immunochromatography."

What is Immunochromatography?

What the kit detects is antibodies generated in response to Coronavirus. "In the current tests, viral genetic material (RNA) is being tested through PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) testing. This is the direct evidence of the virus being present in a person's system. Antibody testing is an indirect way of doing it, of the virus has replicated itself in the human body. This is the body's defense system that generates these molecules in reaction to the virus. So, we are not detecting the virus directly but the antibodies produced in an infected person. Usually, antibodies take three to four days time to appear after the onset of symptoms, by the seventh day almost every individual has antibodies. So many companies abroad have developed an antibody-based test for COVID-19 and they have compared it with real time PCR tests which is detecting RNA."

The comparability is measured based on sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity is the ability of a test to detect all true positives as positives, specificity is the other way around. The ability of a test to detect those who do not have an infection as negative in the test. Ideally, we look for sensitivity and specificity above 90% for a test. "The advantage of this test is that it can be done with one drop of whole blood. A finger prick is all that is needed," Ravi said.