'Nearly 80% Covid-19 testing kits substandard in Pakistan'

Low-quality kits used by most health facilities give only 50% accurate results, according to health expert

Despite more than two years into the pandemic, Pakistan is yet to form a uniform policy for the diagnosis of various infections including Covid-19.

Nearly 80 per cent of the testing kits imported from different countries are substandard and do not produce accurate results. A few large hospitals are using the high-standard kits produced by multinational companies, the results of which are being considered accurate and error-free.

On the other hand, the results of low-quality kits used by most health facilities are 50 per cent accurate.

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Dr Saeed Khan, Professor of Pathology at Dow University Ojha campus, told The Express Tribune that three types of kits are used for Covid testing in the country, including automatic, semi-automatic and manual.

He said that fully automatic kits do not need human involvement, the semi-automatic ones involve the use of human hands.

Dr Saeed said that the manual kits fully depend on the person operating them due to which the chances of false test results are high.

"If the technician has obtained the patient's sample with expertise and applied it for testing through the automated kit, then the results are perfectly accurate," he added.

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He said that after receiving the patient's samples, they must be kept at a required temperature. "If a patient's sample is taken and placed in the sunlight or in a warm place, the results will be radically different."

Dr Saeed said that samples must be shifted with extreme precaution, so that the testing kits produce accurate results, adding that the results of tests performed on normal kits are 50-50, but the results of kits approved by the FDA are considered to be 95 per cent accurate.

Ironically, no uniform policy has been formulated so far for the evaluation of any test in Pakistan. Kits for the diagnosis of Covid-19 are currently being imported from China, Turkey, the United States and some European countries.

Dr Saeed said that as there is no uniform policy for Covid testing, small laboratories import cheap kits which produce dubious results.

It should be noted that it has often been observed that the results of Covid tests radically differ from one laboratory to another. The results of top hospitals and the kits used there are recognised as authentic compared to the results of the test conducted by other labs.

Results may even differ even if the test is conducted by the same lab as they can come positive on one day and negative on the other which confuses the patient.

The registration and licensing of laboratories and hospitals in Sindh is the responsibility of the Sindh Healthcare Commission. It is an autonomous body operating under the Department of Health.

However, the commission has not yet decided whether to ensure the use of World Health Organisation (WHO) and FDA-approved kits in all areas of the province and to announce a uniform policy in all Sindh hospitals and labs.

Due to this loophole in the system, some labs can use non-FDA approved kits and charge high prices for them. Moreover, the prices of the tests should also be fixed.