PPP minister lashes out at Centre for sending ‘faulty testing kits’

Murtaza Wahab says kits not fit for clinical examination, lack swabs

KARACHI: Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab claimed on Sunday that the coronavirus testing kits that the province had received from the federal government were not just unfit for carrying out clinical examinations but also lacked pieces of viral transport medium (VTM), which he said were essential for testing.

Taking to Twitter, Wahab posted that of the kits received by the provincial government, "17,000 [were]… without VTMs and swabs which are necessary for conducting the tests."

Referring to a prescription note attached with the post, he tweeted, "Secondly, the quality of [the] kits is not fit for clinical examination[s]."

According to the prescription, the kits are only to be used for diagnosing pneumonia caused by the coronavirus and that the results of the tests are to be considered for just "clinical reference and should not be used as the sole criteria for clinical diagnosis."

The prescription also clarified that the kits are to be employed for in vitro diagnosis - which involves collecting samples of blood or tissue from the body - which makes the availability of VTMs and swabs essential for conducting the tests.

Lambasting the Centre over the alleged negligence, Wahab said that 20,000 kits sent by the federal government "are of no use."

Addressing federal ministers and the government on Twitter, he posted, "This is the quality of the kits supplied to Sindh by you guys."

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2020.