Caution needed while using testing equipment from China

It is good to know that 6.5 lakh testing kits have arrived in India from China, which could potentially help in identifying individuals with symptoms of coronavirus.

Chinese testing kits face rejection:

At the same time, it is necessary to keep in mind that testing kits supplied by China have been rejected by several countries including Spain, Philippines.

What is particularly noteworthy is that China has not disputed the criticism but have offered to replace them in a number of cases.

Absence of procurement procedure:

For these testing kits, China is now operating in the seller’s market, where China is quoting a fancy price and dictating delivery schedules.

In the present desperate conditions due to coronavirus crisis in the world, it appears that China is the only country well prepared to supply the test kits in large quantities.

Forward planning by China

In the seller’s market operated by China, India is importing a large number of testing kits. Normally, in the large scale procurement, the buyer has to inspect the shop floor practices and testing/quality control procedures adopted by the producing company by visiting the unit and inspecting the conditions in a broad manner.

However, there have been huge restrictions in China about the visits of foreigners and in such circumstances, there is no way that such procurement procedures could have been adopted by the buyers.

It is also known that traders in China are also offering to supply the kits and these traders could be procuring from small manufacturers in China. Therefore, the status and credibility of the suppliers need careful examination.

Need for caution :

It is also reported by a section of scientists and medical researchers that the coronavirus can spread not only by a human to human contact, but the virus can stay for a long time on the surface of the objects, tools, kits etc. This is why people are asked to wash their hands every time they would touch a new object or even after opening or closing door or window.

There is enough justification to develop a suspicion that some of the testing kits arriving from China may have virus spread on the surface, as the testing kits are received from virus-infected country.

It is extremely necessary to be cautious in handling these kits from China and using them for testing purposes. In the unfortunate event of these doubts proving to be correct, the consequences could be disastrous and too terrifying to imagine.

In this connection, it is good to know that the government of India has said that these rapid antibody kits from China would be strictly used only as a surveillance tool and not for a diagnosis.

For a layman, it is difficult to clearly understand what exactly is the difference between surveillance and diagnosis in practical terms. Can we expect that surveillance test would be done on individuals though on a scattered basis and not on every individual? Even such surveillance tests could cause harm if they happen to have virus spread on them.

While it is necessary to carry out extensive testing, the use of testing equipment from China should be done with great care and caution, particularly since several countries have rejected the test kits supplied by China in the last few days.

Need to explain precautionary measures:

It is necessary that the government of India should explain to the people about the precautionary measures taken in procuring test kits from China.

Some sampling methods must be decided by the government of India, and guidelines to test the adequacy of the testing kits in all respects should be circulated by the government of India, which should be done as a matter of abundant precaution.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)