Rapid antigen tests come handy at hospitals in Darjeeling

Darjeeling: The rapid antigen tests that are now being conducted in different Government hospitals in the Darjeeling district has come in very handy with the need for speed. Incidentally the rapid antigen tests, was approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for COVID-19. This test was introduced in the Darjeeling district five days back. Rapid antigen tests are being conducted at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Darjeeling District Hospital along with Siliguri and Kurseong Sub-Divisional hospitals. "The advantage of this test is early and speedy detection of positive cases. There have been a number of cases detected in the district since the test has been introduced," stated Dr Sushanta Rai, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) overseeing the Covid-19th treatment in North Bengal, talking to Millennium Post.

A rapid antigen test is done by taking nasal swab of a person. It takes around 30 minutes for the results. The ICMR Advisory states that symptomatic individuals who test negative for Covid-19 by rapid antigen test should definitely be tested sequentially by RT-PCR to rule out infection. However, a positive test should be considered as a true positive and does not need reconfirmation. "We have received the antigen test kits for the tests to be conducted in different hospitals of the district. The speedy reports are a big help in testing emergency cases including persons who need immediate hospitalisation or have to undergo surgery; patients with Influenza Like Symptoms and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness" stated Dr Pralay Acharya, CMOH, Darjeeling. Recently there have been cases of hospital staff including nurses and pharmacists testing COVID-19 in a Government Hospital in the district. "Other nurses and doctors had to be tested to ensure that they were not positive before going to the wards. If one had to conduct RT-PCR tests, the reports of which takes days, the hospital would have faced a shortage of staff. However Rapid Antigen tests were conducted and the medical staff could be safely deployed in hours," stated a health official, tracing the advantage of the rapid antigen test.

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