The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a dry swab direct RT-PCR test method for COVID-19 virus developed by CSIR-Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). “This method developed by CSIR-CCMB is a simple variation of the existing gold standard RT-PCR method,” the science and technology ministry said in a statement.
The direct dry swab RT-PCR testing method aims to increase testing by two to three times without a new investment of resources, the ministry said. Considering its lower cost and quick turnaround time, ICMR has issued an advisory for the use of the CSIR-CCMB dry swab method.
CSIR-CCMB has been testing coronavirus samples since April 2020. After working closely with Telangana healthcare workers, it identified some of the key issues slowing down the testing process. To make the testing process faster and simpler, the researchers developed the dry-swab RNA-free test method for the COVID-19 virus.
In the conventional testing method, nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab samples collected by sample collection centers are transported to testing centers, sometimes even hundreds of kilometers apart. The samples are usually placed in a liquid called a viral transport medium (VTM). To avoid leaks, they are tightly packed, increasing sample processing times at both sample collection and analysis centers.
“The dry swab direct RT-PCR method involves collecting and transporting the nasal swab in a dry state, which makes the transport and handling of samples easy and less prone to spillage and spread of infection,” the ministry said in a release.
In direct dry swab RT-PCR, the step of isolating RNA from the sample is skipped. It involves sample processing followed by direct RT-PCR using the ICMR recommended kit. “Skipping the RNA isolation step offers great benefit over the conventional method, as RNA isolation is a major bottleneck in terms of time, cost and skilled manpower,” the official statement said.
“The dry swab direct RT-PCR method is cost-effective, easy to implement without the need for new kits, and the existing workforce can do this without additional training and could therefore make a significant contribution to rapidly increasing capacity. trial in the country, “explained Dr. Shekhar C Mande, DG-CSIR.
“RNA extraction, even with automation, takes four hours for approximately 500 samples. VTM and RNA extraction adds a significant burden to the money and time required for mass testing for coronavirus,” said Rakesh Mishra, Director of CCMB .
“We believe that the merit of the dry swab direct RT-PCR method holds for all types of environments and has the potential to reduce costs and test time by 40-50%. It is a game-changing technology. game, as with the existing infrastructure, the COVID-19 screening performance can be improved multiple times with immediate effect and at the same time make the whole process more secure, “said Mishra.
The modified CSIR-CCMB method has also been independently corroborated by world-class institutes and hospitals, including the Center for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnosis (CDFD), IISER-Berhapmur, CSIR-NEERI, GMCH- Nagpur, Pune-based Genepath, IGGMSH and MAFSU, Nagpur and Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad.
Furthermore, the dry swab direct RT-PCR method has been published in a peer-reviewed journal by CSIR-CCMB and by other scientific groups in several prestigious scientific journals around the world.
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