Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the health minister of the union said that the Feluda Covid-19 test is due to be carried out soon.
The Feluda test, which is priced at around 500 and can yield a result in 45 minutes, is capable of separating SARS-CoV-2 from other coronaviruses even if there are minute genetic differences between them.
"While I cannot put an exact date on the availability, we should expect this test within the next few weeks" Harsh Vardhan said.
Based on tests in over 2,000 patients during the trials at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) and on testing in private labs, the test showed 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity. This compares favourably to ICMR’s current acceptation criteria of RT-PCR Kit of at least 95% sensitivity and at least 99% specificity
The Feluda paper strip test for SRS-CoV-2 diagnosis has been developed by CSIR-IGIB and approved for commercial launch by the Drug Controller General of India. The kit has already been tested by the National Centre for Biological Sciences of the Department of Atomic Energy, Bangalore.
Similar to a pregnancy strip test, if the virus is found, Feluda switches colour and doesn't require costly detection machines.The technology can detect unique sequences of DNA within a gene, and uses an enzyme acting as molecular scissors to snip it.
On October 11, India's COVID-19 tally passed 70 lakh, with 74,383 infections recorded in a day. With 918 people succumbing to the disease in 24 hours, the death toll climbed to 1.08,334. By October 10, a cumulative total of 8,68,77,242 samples had been tested, according to the ICMR.