IIT Guwahati makes COVID-19 test kits | Fusion - WeRIndia

The rising number of coronavirus cases in the country reveals the need to conduct more tests. Though the testing facilities in India have developed to some extent, there is a shortage of enough testing kits for mass COVID-19 testing.

In this situation, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati designed high-quality test kits for COVID-19. The researchers announced that they developed plenty of affordable testing kits in association with RR Animal Healthcare Ltd. and Guwahati Medical College and Hospital to meet the demand.

The RT-PCR (Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test kit is one of the most widely used tests for coronavirus. In addition to these kits, the researchers of IIT Guwahati also designed another two types of COVID-19 testing kits. They are Viral Transport Media kits and RNA isolation kits.

The researchers developed 20,000 VTN kits in the first lot and handed over to Assam government. The health minister of Assam congratulated the researchers and other faculty members who have created these kits in the time of need.

He said that 10,000 VTM kits are needed daily. If the test kits are produced on a large scale, then there is no need to buy them from other countries. They used to buy the kit for ₹206, but now each kit is available for ₹140.

All these kits will have a transport medium that is approved by the US CDC. It has nasal specimen collection swab and throat specimen collection swab.

VTM test kits are suitable for collection and transport to other places. They are easily maintained; swab samples can be stored in the freezer for long-term. The transport medium helps preserve the viability of viruses for up to 3 days if they are stored in the refrigerator.

Besides, they are unique and safe to collect. They do not cause problems to the collector.
Image Credit:- Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://www.pexels.com/photo/scientist-in-laboratory-3735709/