IISc start-up Equine Biotech develops affordable RT-PCR kit - ETHealthworld.com

IISc start-up Equine Biotech develops affordable RT-PCR kit - ETHealthworld.com

IISc start-up Equine Biotech develops affordable RT-PCR kit - ETHealthworld.com

Posted: 26 Sep 2020 10:47 PM PDT

IISc start-up Equine Biotech develops affordable RT-PCR kitBengaluru: A start-up incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Equine Biotech, has developed an indigenous RT-PCR diagnostic kit for accurate and affordable diagnosis of Covid-19.

"The biggest advantage of Equine Biotech's 'Global TM diagnostic kit' is that it takes just around one-and-half hours to confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in samples," an IISc release said.

Equine Biotech founder and Department of Biochemistry Professor Opal Taut said that the test kit based on Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is considered the gold standard for Covid-19 diagnosis.

He said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had approved that for use in authorised diagnostic labs.

According to him, ramping up testing in the country was crucial for tracking and controlling the spread of this infectious disease.

"India has the second highest reported cases in the world, with more than five million cases. Therefore, India needs home-grown diagnostics kits that can easily be mass produced and made accessible to a larger population. But so far, only a few Indian companies have developed reliable and accurate RT-PCR kits; most kits used widely are imported and therefore expensive," he said.

He said that the kit was an easy-to-use, multiplex RT-PCR kit with 100% specificity. "Its run time is relatively short compared with kits available elsewhere."

The professor claimed that the company was currently seeking to license its test kit and work with med-tech companies and other industries for its mass production, marketing and distribution.

Equine Biotech has 30 years of experience in working on infectious diseases, including zoometric diseases.

It has previously developed diagnostic tests for screening livestock, especially cattle and horses, for blood parasitic diseases such as trypanosomiasis, trichomoniasis, theileriosis and babesiosis.

Delhi govt provided over 60,000 oximeters to Covid-19 patients in city: Official data - ETHealthworld.com

Posted: 27 Sep 2020 05:05 AM PDT

Delhi govt provided over 60,000 oximeters to Covid-19 patients in city: Official dataNEW DELHI: The Delhi government has so far provided 60,042 oximeters to home quarantined Covid-19 patients in the city to help them check their oxygen levels, according to official figures. The Arvind Kejriwal government had in June announced to provide oximeters to the Covid-19 patients in home isolation with no symptoms or mild symptoms of the disease and facing breathing problems due to low oxygen levels.

"It was started with a view to be able to provide treatment and shift any such patients to hospital for medical care. Thousands of oximeters distributed by the government have saved many lives of patients in home isolation," a senior government official said.

According to the latest government figures, a total of 60,042 oximeters have been distributed among Covid-19 patients spread across 11 districts. Most of the oximeters were provided to patients in West (7,504), Central (7,050), South West(6,953), North West (6,656) and East (5,925) districts.

Oximeters are devices used to measure oxygen level in blood. With a drop in blood oxygen level, patients feel problem in breathing and need to be admitted to hospitals if their oxygen saturation drops to 90 per cent or below (normal is 95-100 per cent).

"As per need, each day around 40 to over 100 Covid-19 patients are provided with oximeters in each district. Since home isolation patients are in touch with district medical officers, these devices help provide interventions like oxygen concentrators or hospital shifting of patients, if needed," the official said.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier termed pulse oximeters as ''suraksha kavach'' (protective shield) for Covid-19 patients and credited the device with minimising deaths of patients under home isolation in Delhi.

The government has also started providing oximeters to Covid-19 patients discharged from hospitals and recuperating at home, as problems like breathlessness persist in some despite being having tested negative for the infection, the official said.

According to official records, 41 novel coronavirus patients died at home isolation in Delhi since first week of May. In the home isolation strategy, oximeters have emerged as a game changer in saving precious lives, the official added.

The number of Covid-19 patients under home isolation in Delhi stands at 17,600.

Since May, a total of 1.34 lakh Covid-19 patients have been prescribed home isolation out of which 1.13 lakh recovered while about 2,700 were shifted to hospital for further treatment, the data showed.

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