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JAKARTA – Indonesia will soon introduce a new rapid test that can analyze breath samples and detect Covid-19 infection in a few minutes.
The test is set up to use GeNose C19 breathalyzers, developed by researchers at Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University.
Professor Kuwat Triyana, who leads the research team, said on Saturday (December 26) that 100 breathalyzers would initially be distributed for mass screening in public places, such as airports, train stations and hospitals, after the Ministry of Health granted a distribution permit for use on Thursday (December 24).
A single test takes just three minutes, which includes collecting the breath samples, and the result is ready in just two minutes. It costs between 15,000 rupees and 25,000 rupees (S $ 1.40 and S $ 2.35).
“Each of the 100 units in the first batch to be launched is expected to be able to perform 120 tests or cover a total of 12,000 people per day,” Professor Kuwat said in a statement posted on the university’s website.
The research team aims to produce 10,000 breathalyzers by the end of February, to test 1.2 million people every day.
“These numbers are certainly not our end goal. But, with the ability to test as many people as possible, hopefully we can find people who contract Covid-19 without any symptoms and isolate or treat them immediately to break the chain of infections “. added.
A consortium of five companies has pledged to support the production and distribution of the diagnostic tools, the development of which was funded by the State Intelligence Agency and the Ministry of Research and Technology.
Indonesia, which announced its first two Covid-19 cases in early March, has struggled to get the proper tests to detect infections on the ground.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the standard test for diagnosis, are expensive and could exceed Rs 2 million, breaking the Rs 900,000 ceiling for the price of the tests that the health authorities had provided. by early October.
Much cheaper rapid antibody tests have been widely used for mass screening, and antigen testing was recently required for travel. Those who tested positive are encouraged to undergo PCR testing.
Dr Windhu Purnomo, an epidemiologist at Surabaya-based Airlangga University, told The Straits Times that, like other testing methods, breath analysis is only useful for mass screening and should not be used to make a diagnosis.
“GeNose is said to be fast and cheap, so it will help detection, especially for travel,” he said, adding that diagnosis should only be based on PCR tests.
The WHO has suggested that a country conduct at least 1,000 tests per million inhabitants per week.
According to this guideline, Indonesia, the fourth most populous nation in the world with almost 270 million inhabitants, should conduct some 270,000 tests a week.
Indonesia analyzed about 338,000 clinical samples collected from 224,945 people in the last week of December 21-27, according to figures from the Ministry of Health. So far, a total of 7.12 million clinical samples from 4.76 million people have been analyzed.
As of Sunday (December 28), Indonesia recorded 713,365 Covid-19 infections and 21,237 deaths, the highest in Southeast Asia.
Although Indonesia has nearly reached the WHO testing rate benchmark, epidemiologists said it needs to expand testing further to help flatten the infection curve.
Dr Windhu acknowledged that Indonesia’s testing rate remains low, and should strive to go beyond the WHO minimum standard. He warned that the actual number of infections in Indonesia may be six times higher than the around 7,000 cases reported daily.
“Below the surface, there are still a lot of undetected infections,” he said.
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