Chamarajanagar district administration to use antigen test kits to arrest spread

CHAMARAJANAGAR: The rising Covid-19 slope in the border district of Chamarajanagar has kept the officials and personnel of the health department on their toes, and as part of its preparations for a further spike in the number of cases, the district administration has decided to put to use the 1,000 antigen test kits it had received from the state government.
Sources in the Chamarajanagar district health department confirmed to TOI that the drive to test suspected patients is under way in the 160 containment zones.In both the urban and rural pockets of the district, the department personnel are testing suspected patients using the kits that provide immediate results.
Currently, mobile units are collecting swabs, the samples of which are being examined at primary health centres. Meanwhile, the district administration will intensify testing using antigen kits from Wednesday.
A source in the health department said that, despite shortage of staff, as many as 300 samples were being tested each day. “But this number will rise to 1,000 once all the antigen kits are pressed into service,” he added.
Chamarajanagar district health department having identified 34,205 special patients, who are suspected of having the infection – the list includes pregnant women and those suffering from lung and kidney disorders – the antigen kits will be used to test them for the pandemic as well.
“The antigen test is a point-of-care procedure that is performed outside of the laboratory, and used to obtain results quickly,” a source said.
Chamarajanagar district health officer Dr Ravi told TOI that the antigen kits supplied by the state government had proven very useful. “The authorities use the kits in ambulances, fever clinics and while they are participating in door-to-door survey,” he said.
He said that those patients displaying symptoms of Covid-19, and asymptomatic patients with co-morbidities, would help either confirm the infection or its lack. “This will help accelerate the process of identifying and treating infected patients,” Dr Ravi added.