Hyderabad-Based CCMB to Bring Cost-Effective COVID-19 Testing Kits

Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) is likely to come out with a special kit to test coronavirus in the next two or three weeks. The cost of Coronavirus testing would come down less than Thousand Rupees after its introduction.

The premier research body is working round-the-clock to develop cost-effective and accurate diagnostic kits that could be used for Coronavirus testing. The time taken for the development is long because they will be approved only if they gave 100 percent results.

At present, there is an acute shortage of Coronavirus testing kits and that limits the testing. Currently, those with Travel History or in close contact with the infected persons with symptoms are being tested in India. Currently, India is importing kits each at 4,500 Rupees.

India has only 118 government laboratories and officials say 50 private labs will also be roped in. For a population of 1.3 billion, that is far from adequate. India will have to identify many more labs, then the testing kits have to reach there, and technicians have to be trained. All this should happen before the virus does not enter the Community Spreading stage.