ICMR issues list of approved Ig-ELISA kits to be used for COVID-19 serosurvey & monitoring

After recommending sero-survey to monitor rising Coronavirus (COVID-19) trends, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on Wednesday, issued a list of approved Ig-ELISA kits for COVID-19 testing. The three types of kits are manufactured by Zydus Cadila Healthcare Ltd, Euroimmun US Inc, and Calbiotech Inc. ICMR advised that the recommended kits be used only for serosurveys and survey in high-risk population.

ICMR issues Ig-ELISA kits

ICMR to conduct 'serosurvey' in select districts to track trend of COVID-19 infection

ICMR member: 'community transmission well-established'

On Monday, members from ICMR admitted that community transmission of the Coronavirus infection is 'well-established' in large sections of the country, according to PTI. A group of health experts, including doctors from AIIMS and ICMR, have said that sub-populations have been affected by community transmission of the pandemic. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has repeatedly maintained that the virus has only entered local transmission, but not community transmission level.

WHO Executive Group allows resuming solidarity trial on HCQ, a week after pausing it

ICMR's sero-survey recommendation

On Saturday, ICMR  advised states to conduct a sero-survey to measure the exposure of the Coronavirus in the population. To conduct the sero-survey, the ICMR has developed IgG ELISA test and recommended states to use the specific antibody test kit. Currently, the apex medical council is conducting sero-survey in several districts across India to assess the proportion of the population exposed to the virus including asymptomatic individuals.

'Community transmission of COVID well-established in large parts of India': Health experts

What is a sero-survey for COVID-19?

The ministry explained that a 'sero-survey' will involve testing of blood serum of a group of individuals to monitor trends of novel coronavirus or SARS-COV-2 infection at the district level. The surveillance unit will consist of 10 health facilities (including 6 public and 4 private) from each district.  Among the low-risk population, outpatient attendees (non-ILI patients) and pregnant women will be tested while among the high-risk population healthcare workers will be surveyed. The agencies will also replace RT-PCR based testing for surveillance purposes with  ELISA-based testing subsequently.

Centre extends lockdown till June 30

The Centre has announced that the nationwide- Coronavirus lockdown has been extended till June 30, 2020. The Centre has also announced that the re-opening of the areas outside containment zones will be done in three phases. India's active cases stand at 1,01,497, recovered cases at 1,00,302 with 5,815 fatalities. ICMR has already tested 41,03,233 samples till date, with 1,37,158 in 24 hours.

Coronavirus Live Updates: Cases in India at 2,07,615 - 1,01,497 active & 1,00,302 cured