With the world tightly under the grip of deadly Corona virus, the need for fast, easy-to-use diagnostic tests is at an all-time high.
What started as an outbreak of febrile respiratory illness of unknown etiology in December 2019 from Wuhan, Hubei province of China, has now rapidly spread to not only the neighboring provinces of China but 72 other countries as well, and the number is ever growing. The outbreak has been epidemiologically linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market involving sale of sea food and live animals. Subsequently the etiological agent was found to be a novel coronavirus which was isolated from the bronchoalveolar lavage of three infected individuals. Infection is spread through droplets of an infected patient generated by coughing and sneezing or through prolonged contact with infected patients. Virus has been named as SARS-CoV-2 due to its relatedness to the earlier SARS-CoV (2002- 03). The WHO has named the disease as COVID-19 and ICTV has named the virus as SARSCoV-2. In the midst of the global COVID-19 public-health emergency, it is reasonable to wonder why the origins of the pandemic matter. Detailed understanding of how an animal virus jumped species boundaries to infect humans so productively will help in the prevention of future zoonotic events. For example, if SARS-CoV-2 pre-adapted in another animal species, then there is the risk of future re-emergence events. In contrast, if the adaptive process occurred in humans, then even if repeated zoonotic transfers occur, they are unlikely to take off without the same series of mutations.
Due to the fast spread of virus to neighboring countries, it became critical for all countries to expedite setting up diagnostics for this new virus. Diagnosis helps in early identification of the disease and containment of the disease.
Currently, there are two primary types of Covid-19 diagnostics available. One such test screens patient blood samples for antibodies against the virus. However, antibodies are often not detectable until a few days after symptoms begin. Another type of test looks for viral DNA in a sputum sample. These tests can detect the virus earlier in the infection, but they require polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a technology that amplifies the amount of DNA to detectable levels and takes several hours to perform.
Even in India, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex health research body of India has successfully isolated the COVID-19 virus strain. The isolation is the first step towards expediting the development of drugs, vaccines and rapid diagnostic kits in the country. The other countries that have isolated the virus are Japan, Thailand, United States of America and China. ICMR has been closely working with the Ministry of Health, and other departments to coordinate the effort to tackle COVID-19. ICMR, which is also the testing agency for the virus, has expanded its network of labs equipped to test COVID-19 from 51 to 65. The secondary test for reconfirmation of the virus which was earlier conducted only in National Institute of Virology have also been expanded to 31 labs. These steps will enable India to expedite detection of the virus and will help in effective management.
Prof (Dr) Balram Bhargava, Secretary, Department of Health Research & Director General, ICMR, in a press release dated March 13, 2020, said “People should not panic, but take precautionary measures. Strong systems and processes are in place to deal with COVID-19 and the Ministry is constantly monitoring the situation. We at ICMR have been constantly in a vigil mode and our laboratories have enough capacity to test. We will be issuing advisories and revising guidelines for testing as and when necessary.” In a query regarding ongoing paranoia about what to eat or not Eat, DG, ICMR said eating non-veg (chicken or eggs) is not related to COVID-19.
Till date ICMR has tested more than 6500 samples of 5900 individuals, out of which 78 cases have been tested positive for the virus. ICMR is equipped to handle more volumes of samples if the need arises.
No doubt then that testing is the first step in widening the diagnosis protocol that experts say is crucial to fight the deadly epidemic that has claimed at least 7,000 lives worldwide.
