Antigen testing helping with early detection, at par with RT-PCR: BMC

In a positive development in the fight against COVID19 the new quicker antigen tests being done by the civic body to detect the virus are showing 99 per cent accuracy as compared to the RTPCR tests that take much longer to give results Of the recent tests done using this method 340 people were found positive and added to the daily tally of reportsThe Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC began using the antigen tests last week for people living between Dahisar and Malad to extend the scope of testing along with the realtime polymerase chain reaction RTPCR testsBMC had procured 1 lakh antigen test kits for Rs 45 croreWhile the rapid antigen tests give results within 30 minutes there was apprehension about their accuracy Though positive results are considered as final negative ones cannot be relied on completely and symptomatic people are advised to go for the RTPCR test So far the antigen tests are matching the accuracy of the RTPCR methodA BMC official said There are instances of false negative results in RTPCR too Symptomatic patients with negative results can get treatment Negative results through both methods are not final but the antigen tests help the early detection and treatment for infected patientsResidents of Dahisar get tested at a civic testing campThe BMC has conducted 3500 antigen tests till Saturday evening and 340 people have tested positive The test positive rate TPR is 970 per cent As a backup RTPCR tests were also conducted on symptomatic patients and the results are almost the same The antigen test results are matching up to 99 per cent with the RTPCR test results said Suresh Kakani additional municipal commissioner adding that considering the good performance of the antigen tests they will be used in the rest of the city tooBMC also plans to rope in private labs to conduct testing at its testing camps through the antigen method Until now 385 lakh RTPCR tests have been conducted in the city with the TPR being over 24 per cent mdash much higher than the national average of 65 per cent In other words for every 100 people tested in Mumbai 24 tested positive A high TPR indicates that testing is inadequate and new chains of transmission are being ignored As per the guidelines of the World Health Organization WHO the TPR should be less than five The antigen tests increase the BMCs testing capacity It has bought 1 lakh of these test kits for R45 croreSome of the test kits have been given to four civicrun medical colleges ndash KEM LTM Sion Nair and Cooper hospitalsViral fever spreading fast in cityWhile the number of malaria leptospirosis and dengue cases is under control 294 cases of viral fever were reported in the city from July 1 to 5 There were 78 cases of malaria two of leptospirosis and one of dengue in the same period June saw There were 328 malaria cases in June and 163 in May Going by the numbers and monsoon the number is set to increase Even though some of the areas in the city reported more vectorborne diseases there isnt a specific area with maximum cases We are keeping a close watch said Suresh Kakani additional municipal commissionerCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news