Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Aug 8: In a release, deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district as well as the district health and family welfare officer, said that the COVID testing systems have been intensified in order to identify coronavirus cases faster and to check whether any persons in contact with the confirmed patients have contracted the disease and to see that COVID control measures are followed. These measures are being taken in view of the increasing incidences of coronavirus infection, they said.

There are two types of laboratory tests for this pandemic. One is the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), and the other is the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain/reaction (RT-PCR) test.

Irrespective of whether a person is symptomatic or not, RAT is used to get quick results. Under this system, nasal swab samples are collected and subjected to test through the kit. The result is received in this system within 15 to 20 minutes. If the result is positive, it will be treated as a confirmed case. If the result is negative, and if the persons concerned display symptoms of the disease, their throat and nasal swabs will be collected again and tested through RT-PCR laboratory. If the RAT test gives a positive result and the person does not display any symptoms of the disease, and if he does not have comorbidity like high blood pressure, diabetes etc, and arrangement to treat such cases at home will be made. If here there are comorbidities and there is variation in health conditions, immediately treatment is provided in a local hospital.

All hospitals with over 50 beds have been provided with RAT test kits and before admitting anyone, they have to get them tested in this method. The private hospitals have been told to provide this test free of cost.

RT – PCR

For this test, the throat and nasal swabs are collected and sent to the laboratory. The result is obtained in 24 hours. Under this method, the free test is done at the laboratory at district Wenlock Hospital. If referred by Wenlock Hospital to private hospitals, the test is done at the rate of Rs 2,000. If the person directly approaches the medical college hospital directly, the rate charged will be Rs 2,900. In case samples are sent by private hospitals to medical college hospitals, the rate fixed is Rs 2,700. Laboratory arrangements are in progress for providing RT-PCR testing facilities in the remaining medical college hospitals.

In some cases, RAT tests give negative results and the patient is put through RT-PCR test if he has symptoms of the disease, positive results would have been received. False notion is being spread in such cases. As already said, those tested positive under RAT fall in the category of positive cases. In case a negative result is obtained in RAT and the people are tested under RT-PCR because they display disease symptoms, it is recorded as a positive case. The people get the wrong notion about these things, and hence, there is a need to provide clear cut information about the testing systems followed at the laboratories.