Bhubaneswar: The health facilities in BMC area that conduct COVID-19 test are optimistic that they will meet the state government’s target of 1400 tests per day very soon.
According to a Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) release, with 1,185 tests conducted in the city on Saturday, the facilities are hopeful that the target will be achieved very shortly.
The testing processes adopted under the BMC jurisdiction are RT-PCR, Antigen and TrueNAT.
Know these tests:
RT-PCR
The real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test is the Gold Standard test and takes around four to eight hours to get the result. The process is based on a polymerase chain reaction or PCR, a process that copies and amplifies specific genetic fragments of the coronavirus, resulting in that there is enough material to conduct the analysis as through the swab collection, a small amount is collected from nose/throat. Under the process, the viral genetic material is detected and confirmed through a fluorescent dye as primer.
Antigen Test
This test takes around 30 minutes and can detect a particular protein material in the coronavirus that is related to the human being’s natural immune response. In the case of COVID-19, the ‘spike protein’ present on the surface of the coronavirus helps the virus enter a human cell.
True-NAT
This process is chip-based and works by detecting the protein envelope that holds the components of the coronavirus together and the gene for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, an enzyme that enables the virus replicate inside the host body. Unlike the RT-PCR process, the sample preparation in TrueNAT test is automated, and the results are available quicker say, within half an hour.
Antibody or Serological Test
This is no way related to any detection or diagnosis as it is related to research. Antibody tests, also known as serological tests, detect whether a person has antibodies to the coronavirus. Antibodies are naturally produced by the human immune system to fight infections. Persons with antibodies in their blood are likely to have immunity to COVID-19.
