Indian Council of Medical Research approves RT-qPCR kit to detect influenza

 CHENNAI: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday approved a novel RT-qPCR test kit by Chennai-based KRIYA Medical Technologies that can detect influenza (H1N1, H3N2, Yamagata, and Victoria sublineages), COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The approval of the kit marketed as KRIVIDA Trivus comes even as several parts of the country are facing a significant rise in these viruses.

The three pathogens have similar initial symptoms but differ in how the illness progresses, how easily they spread, and how they are treated.Indian Council of Medical Research , RT-qPCR kit , influenza

The KRIVIDA Trivus effectively distinguishes influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and respiratory syncytial viruses within the shortest TAT (turnaround time), a cycle time of 27 minutes, and the time taken for the result to be read can vary between 50 and 60 minutes. This can enable an immediate line of treatment, the company said in a statement.

The kit can also be used with all the available RT-PCR equipment.

The ICMR evaluated the kit at the National Institute of Virology, Pune, using 225 known positive samples and 85 known negative samples. The overall sensitivity of KRIVIDA Trivus is 99.11 percent, and the specificity is 100 percent. (IANS)

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