Mobile sample collection units prove valuable

KOCHI: When the district health administration launched the first mobile sample collection squad in late April, it was meant to be a singular  unit as part of sentinel surveillance efforts to monitor the Covid-19 cases in Ernakulam. Almost three months later, with cases spiralling across the state, these centralised mobile teams, now four in number, have formed a highly-specialised syndicate proving crucial in Ernakulam’s fight against the pandemic.The mobile testing units station in different high-transmission clusters everyday depending on the number of primary contacts reported the day before. 

“We have a daily schedule for each of the units. This week alone, the teams have been deployed in major zones like Aluva, Chellanam and Kumbalangi apart from various other smaller clusters they visit,” said an official involved in the mobile sample collection initiative. The entire operation is being carried out under the aegis of the district administration to keep a check on high-risk contacts and clusters mushrooming with each passing day.   With the samples collected averaging anywhere between 350-400 per day, these units are equipped to obtain swabs for as many as four different types of tests, including the conventional RT-PCR test, antigen test and CB-NAAT. 

“The test for antigen samples is being done by these units itself. The team sets up a temporary lab on the field for the same. Different tests require specific skill and expertise so the process of sample collection is highly segregated and complex. Also, the units are not working in a controlled setting like a hospital. They have to deal with unexpected situations and in some cases, uncooperative subjects,” the official added. While each unit typically comprises one doctor, a staff nurse and the driver of the vehicle, another medical professional accompanies the team to areas with a high primary transmission rate.

“Collecting one swab takes at least three minutes on average. In most cases, even with the availability of walk-in sample kiosks (WISKs), doctors have to take the sample in PPE suits due to practical issues arising on the field. They have been tirelessly and selflessly working on the ground with no additional incentive,” said the official.

According to him, the focus of the mobile units is not to meet a target number of samples but to approach pivotal clusters in a scientific manner. “For us, it is not a number game. We are not trying to reach 500 or 1,000 samples per day. Rather, we have developed guidelines to identify where the samples have to be taken and from whom. Our priority is to target asymptomatic people who belong to high-risk primary contact category while symptomatic patients are directly sent to necessary facilities.”

Each team operates on the basis of a list of names identified through contact tracing. Persons on the list are informed of the time and location of swab collection by local health authorities. As per sources, a proposal has already been sent to the government seeking permission to extend mobile collection units to panchayat and block levels. It is learnt that an order has been placed for additional WISKs which could be rolled out as early as next week paving the way for an increased number of sample collection at the grassroots. The units will also be provided with more antigen test kits.

The mobile sample collection unit

While each mobile sample collection unit typically comprises one doctor, a staff nurse and the driver of the vehicle, another medical professional accompanies the team to areas with a high primary transmission rate.

TAs per sources, a proposal has already been sent to the government seeking permission to extend mobile collection units to panchayat and block levels. The units will also be provided with more antigen test kits.