India ranks 17th in the countries at the risk from a Corona epidemic. How prepared are we for timely diagnosis and treatment?

Whoever thought that a simple sneeze can grip the attention of the whole world and ‘Corona’ would garner more attention as a deadly virus rather than the amber, scintillating aura that surrounds the sun?

As India’s leading diagnostic manufacturer, we have always been at the forefront for raising our concerns on imports, be it from China or the rest of the world. Today, yet again, we raise our concerns, this time to curb yet another import, that of the Corona virus.

The world will remember the year that was (2019), for reasons more than one, especially the end of an eventful decade of tremendous change and development globally!

But the start of the new decade has challenged the global health machinery, with the rampant spread of the Corona virus. Christened COVID-19 by WHO, the deadly virus, which originated in China, has so far claimed over 3200 lives and infected more than 90,000 people worldwide!

While medical experts are working round-the-clock to develop a vaccine and a trial-proven drug therapy, the onus is on the governance of each individual country to contain its spread and protect its nationals.

The threat looms on

Earlier it was SARS, MERS, Nipah and now the COVID-19. The future might see us being challenged by yet another infection. Early and timely diagnosis is the need of the hour for the country to protect its citizens against another deadly combat. And how it can be made accessible and affordable is something that we all need to put our hands into.

So how ready are we?

The Indian government should be applauded for bringing back around 700 Indian citizens from Wuhan on special flights to their homeland for screening, diagnosis and treatment in Delhi where they were quarantined for two weeks and are slowly being released. This is a great example similar to the movie “Airlift” which shows that we care for our citizens and bring them back.

But what about those that live here and are at a risk of possibly contacting and spreading the virus across the villages and towns and cities of India?

So far, there are 28 confirmed cases in India which is a blessing in disguise given the outbreak around the world.

Thankfully, the outbreak in India has been reported from the developed regions. What if it had occurred at a place in India with minimum preparedness and medical facilities? The situation so far is nowhere as grim as in the epicenter-Wuhan in China. But is this something that should make us heave a sigh of relief? Well, not yet.

Past experience shows that India has been a laggard in responding to an epidemic. Thankfully, the situation is well under control right now. But our own health machinery is currently on strict vigil, even as we speak, hoping that there is no new case detected!

The Indian Council of Medical Research- National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) has been on its toes testing approximately ten samples a day. So what’s the problem you may ask? India is the second most populous country in the world and has been identified among the top 17 at a risk of a Corona virus. India’s climate and air pollution levels add to the woes of over-population.

Though the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has termed the situation within the country ‘under control’ currently, the accessibility to even the basic diagnostic facilities in the remote regions remains a big concern.

The earliest sign of COVID-19 can be pretty deceiving, a mild infection with generic symptoms of a common flu. In fact, even in the 14 day period when the virus is asymptomatic, the infection is dominant. This obviously emphasizes the need for early diagnosis.

Accessibility and availability of diagnostic facilities- an unfilled gap

Over the years, through we have strengthened surveillance and disease response time, there is still a long way to go in adopting international policies. For Nipah virus, the government succeeded in developing a training program that helped in early diagnosis. This is something we need to adopt as a protocol.

In 2012, there was a proposal to set up 150 diagnostic and research labs with virology-related expertise. On date only 80 are operable. Moreover, though ICMR has ten labs, these are used for research and not testing. Testing is done currently in four labs only. I am sure for a country of 1.3 bn people, this is far from adequate. In the event of an epidemic, small towns and rural areas will be ill-equipped.

The test for the corona virus uses a nucleic acid amplification-based test (NAAT) called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a more sensitive form called real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). NAAT is a rapid and reliable molecular technique for qualitative and quantitative assessment of infectious and non-infectious diseases through identification of their genomic sequencing. However, due to its technological advancement, these tests are exclusively performed in centralized NABL accredited laboratories in metros using high end instrumentation and skilled personnel.

In a country that thrives on unregulated scattered diagnostic laboratories and where 70% nationals have never undergone a simple blood test, accessibility of PCR to the small towns and cities is a daunting task.

In such a scenario, an epidemic can spell disaster, with many positive cases across India being missed through misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis.

The clock is ticking

One of the reasons for the disease burden in India is the poor health infrastructure that is overburdened and overstretched. In parts of the country where the medical infrastructure is poor, it becomes difficult to prevent an outbreak from becoming an epidemic. Reducing and limiting outbreaks needs a lot of groundwork to be done by the government along with the private players. This would call for creating enough awareness and conducting basic diagnostic tests for viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens, allowing clinicians to determine the exact cause of symptoms and differentiate between mild and serious infections. But for that to happen, we need to urgently strengthen the disease response infrastructure with the setting up of infectious disease laboratories and skilling of pathologists.

As India’s leading IVD Company, Transasia remains committed to a Healthier and Happier India and we stand by the Government to tackle any such epidemics and virus outbreaks with our latest equipment and services across the small towns and villages of India.

Timely diagnosis is as much a responsibility of the patient, as it is of the doctor. So, if you experience the slightest symptoms, especially after being in contact with a suspected carrier, go all out and first get your blood tested to rule out the possibilities.

And spread the word… an early detection can save a life!

Sources:

Authored By:

Ravi Kaushik

CEO

Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd.

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Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd.