Authorities ramp up testing capacity in Odisha Capital using these three methods

Bhubaneswar: The up-scaling of the number of tests by the city authorities under the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area would now help in better screening and thus in a faster movement towards isolation process so that others in the society would be safe. The city’s facilities doing various tests for identification of COVID-19 virus are now capable of 1,400 tests as the State Government has emphasised on the Test, Trace and Treat guideline to make the COVID-19 management smoother and more effective.

With the test numbers moving up in the city, yesterday it was 1,185 tests done within the BMC area. As previously the test numbers were around 800, the new achievement would result in detection of more cases and ultimately, faster decision making.

It can be mentioned here that under the various processes of getting the infected detected or diagnosed the various processes adopted within the BMC jurisdiction are: RT-PCR testing, Antigen Testing and TrueNAT testing. While the RT-PCR is available at Capital Hospital, IMS-SUM Hospital, AIIMS, AMRI, Apollo, Shree Hospital, inDNA and GENX hospitals respectively, Antigen Tests are being carried out at Capital Hospital, IMS-SUM Hospital and TrueNAT tests at Capital Hospital, AMRI, Shree Hospital and at various camps organised by BMC from time to time.

Yesterday out of the 1,185 tests while 789 tests were done through RT-PCR, 293 were done through Antigen Tests and 103 through TrueNAT tests.

KNOW WHAT ARE THESE TESTS

RT-PCR
The real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test is the Gold Standard test and takes around four to eight hours time to get the result. The process is based on a polymerase chain reaction or PCR, a process that copies and amplifies specific genetic fragments of the Corona virus, resulting in that there is enough material to conduct the analysis as through the swab collection a small amount is collected from nose/throat. Under the process through a fluorescent dye as primer the viral genetic material is detected and confirmed.

Antigen Test
This test takes around 30 minutes and can detect a particular protein material in the Corona virus that related to the human being’s natural immune response. In the case of Covid-19, the ‘spike protein’ present on the surface of the coronavirus that helps in the virus’ entry into a human cell.

True-NAT
This process is chip-based and works by detecting the protein envelope that holds the components of the corona virus together and the gene for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, an enzyme that enables the virus to replicate inside the host body. Unlike the RT-PCR process, the sample preparation in TrueNAT tests is automated, and the results are available quicker say, within half an hour.

Antibody or Serological Test: This is no way related to any detection or diagnosis as is related to research. Antibody tests, also known as serological tests, detect whether a person has antibodies to the Corona virus. Antibodies are naturally produced by the human immune system to fight infections. Persons with antibodies in their blood are likely to have immunity to COVID.