Context: A new diagnostic test for Covid-19 from IIT Kharagpur, called COVIRAP, can be a potential game-changer in bringing high-end molecular diagnostics from the lab to the field.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has validated the efficacy of the method.

How it works?

• It has an automated pre-programmable temperature control unit, a special detection unit on genomic analysis, and a customised smartphone app for results.
• Three master mixes work as markers of different genes to confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2.
• Samples collected react with these mixes. When paper strips are dipped into these reaction products, coloured lines indicate the presence of the virus.

Why it’s special?

• Current tests include RT-PCR, which are highly accurate but require advanced lab infrastructure, and antigen tests that can give results in minutes but have a lower accuracy.
• COVIRAP process is completed within an hour.
• The test is conducted in a ultra-low-cost portable unit that can be handled by unskilled operators outside the lab environment and is an alternative to high-end RTPCR machines.
• It can test samples even on open fields.
• The same unit can be used for a large number of tests on replacement of the paper cartridge after each test.
• The patented machine unit is also very generic, which means that it can perform tests beyond Covid-19 — for influenza, malaria, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, TB etc, under the category of isothermal nucleic acid-based tests.

COVIRAP & FELUDA?

• FELUDA, named after Satyajit Ray’s fictional detective as an acronym for FNCAS9 Editor-Limited Uniform Detection Assay, is a test developed by the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology.
• This too detects genes specific to SARS-CoV-2, but uses CRISPR-CAS technology.
• With FELUDA, too, the need for technical expertise is minimal. While the current FELUDA prototype requires a PCR machine for processing, COVIRAP uses its own detection technology, patented by IIT-KGP.
• “There are certain components of the method which are exclusive for us and different from CRISPRCAS,”

Why testing still matters?

• India has tested 9.72 crore samples until October 20, and been meeting the WHO-suggested threshold of 140 tests per million population per day.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/covirap-iit-kharagpur-covid-test-explained-6830805/

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