New technology is on the anvil for Covid-19 diagnosis. It is simpler in sample collection and quicker in delivering results. When rolled out, the Covid-19 test kit would require an individual to blow into a tube and results would be known within a minute.

Being jointly developed by the scientists of India and Israel, this could be a game-changer in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic. Israeli ambassador to India Ron Malka said the new Covid-19 testing technology should be ready in “a matter of days”.

Malka also said Israel would like India to become the manufacturing hub for this rapid testing kit given its "very strong relative advantage in manufacturing". The work on the rapid Covid-19 testing project is in a very advanced stage, he said. "It should not take more than 2-3 weeks to finalise that one reliable and accurate technology or a combination of more than one from amongst the four different technologies being analysed."

In an interview with news agency PTI, Malka Indian and Israeli researchers have conducted trials after collecting a large number of samples in India for four different kinds of technologies. These technologies include a breath analyser, a voice test, and also isothermal testing that enables identification of the novel coronavirus in a saliva sample and a test using poly-amino acids that seeks to isolate proteins related to COVID-19.

The rapid testing kit is being jointly developed by the Defense Research and Development Directorate of Israel on the one hand and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The scientists working on the testing kit collected around 25,000 samples when a multi-pronged mission from Israel visited India to cooperate on Covid-19 research in July-August. The analysis of these samples has led to the development of this technology.

Malka said the scientists tested tens of technologies before short-listing the four technologies on which they are working in the final stage right now. He said this technology can be used at airports and other places to screen out people with Covid-19. The Israeli envoy said the new Covid-19 test kits would not be expensive to use.

Story Source: www.indiatoday.in