Covid-19: Are India, others testing enough to get a true measure of spread?

Business Standard takes a look at daily and total tests done by all Indian states and 10 most affected countries globally

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases globally reached 13,236,249 on Tuesday, according to Worldometer. However, this number represents only the status of infection as captured through testing, as only lab-confirmed infections are counted as confirmed cases. This implies the true extent of the coronavirus pandemic’s spread could only be gauged by testing a lot.

In the words of World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the world needs to "Test, test, test. Test every suspected case". The WHO chief had suggested on March 16 that testing was the only way to understand the extent of the problem and find a solution. "You cannot fight a fire blindfolded," he had said...

Here's a look at how the 10 most affected countries by total cases are doing in terms of testing:

India’s coronavirus testing strategy

For detection of Covid-19, India is primarily using the real-time-polymerase chain reaction test method, more commonly known as RT-PCR and considered gold standard of frontline testing for the novel coronavirus. According to the American Society for Microbiology, the combination of excellent sensitivity and specificity, low contamination risk, and speed has made RT-PCR technology an appealing alternative to culture- or immunoassay-based testing methods for diagnosing many infectious diseases...Read More

Paper-based device to detect Covid-19 in wastewater of communities: Study

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, noted that rapid testing kits using paper-based devices could be used on-site at wastewater treatment plants.

Researchers are working on a test to detect the novel coronavirus in the wastewater of communities infected with the virus, a development that can help curtail COVID-19 spread via contaminated water sources.According to the scientists, including those from the Cranfield Water Science Institute in the UK, this approach may provide an effective way to predict the potential spread of the virus by picking up signatures of it in faeces and urine from disease carriers that enter water systems.The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, noted that rapid testing kits using paper-based devices could be used on-site at wastewater treatment plants.It said such kits can be applied to trace sources and determine whether there are potential Covid-19 carriers in local areas.

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In the case of asymptomatic infections in the community or when people are not sure whether they are infected or not, real-time community sewage detection through paper analytical devices could determine whether there are COVID-19 carriers in an area to enable rapid screening, quarantine, and prevention,” said Zhugen Yang, study co-author from the Cranfield Water Science Institute.According to the scientists, the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach can help monitor COVID-19 at an early stage in communities, enabling public health authorities to take effective intervention as early as possible to restrict the movements of that local population..Read More