CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu, which had distributed 34,000 Covid-19 rapid test kits across the state before the ICMR on Tuesday gave a directive to states to hold back the tests, had procured the kits from a Chinese firm which has had a poor record in the UK.
TN got the first batch of kits from Guangzhou Wondfo BioTech Limited, the same company from which the UK had procured 2 million kits in the first week of March. According to the UK media, that country is trying to return the kits as it found many of them were not working efficiently. “Where tests are shown not have any prospect of working, then we will seek to recover as much of the costs that we can,” The Daily Mail the UK Prime Minister’s spokesman James Slack as saying on March 6. The next day, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) placed orders for 24,000 kits from Wondfo. Another 12,000 kits were provided by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), show official documents.
TNMSC chairman Umanath said, “TN government procures kits based on validation and approval by ICMR through National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. The state government does not look at the certification of the product.” Records show ICMR validated Wondfo kits on April 2.
Wondfo did not respond to emails. The firm’s website claims it is the first approved one to sell such kits.
Ram Rajasekaran, head of TN Central University’s microbiology department said the average efficiency of any rapid test kit is only 65%. “It can only confirm the presence of antibodies in a person who was infected. The results are likely to be inconsistent during the initial phase of the disease,” he said.
Wondfo told Chinese newspapers that their kits were aimed at supplementing patients who have tested positive for the virus. Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijayabaskar cited these test results (after public screening since Saturday) to say that there was no community spread in the state.
TN got the first batch of kits from Guangzhou Wondfo BioTech Limited, the same company from which the UK had procured 2 million kits in the first week of March. According to the UK media, that country is trying to return the kits as it found many of them were not working efficiently. “Where tests are shown not have any prospect of working, then we will seek to recover as much of the costs that we can,” The Daily Mail the UK Prime Minister’s spokesman James Slack as saying on March 6. The next day, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) placed orders for 24,000 kits from Wondfo. Another 12,000 kits were provided by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), show official documents.
TNMSC chairman Umanath said, “TN government procures kits based on validation and approval by ICMR through National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. The state government does not look at the certification of the product.” Records show ICMR validated Wondfo kits on April 2.
Wondfo did not respond to emails. The firm’s website claims it is the first approved one to sell such kits.
Ram Rajasekaran, head of TN Central University’s microbiology department said the average efficiency of any rapid test kit is only 65%. “It can only confirm the presence of antibodies in a person who was infected. The results are likely to be inconsistent during the initial phase of the disease,” he said.
Wondfo told Chinese newspapers that their kits were aimed at supplementing patients who have tested positive for the virus. Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijayabaskar cited these test results (after public screening since Saturday) to say that there was no community spread in the state.
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