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  • Indian defence research develops H1N1 testing kit

    DRDO develops H1N1 testing kit
    Shimona Kanwar, TNN 22 November 2009, 02:35am ISTText Size:|TopicsRDO
    H1N1 cases
    testing kit

    CHANDIGARH: With the advent of winter H1N1 cases are on the rise across the country. Keeping this and the high cost of the WHO testing kit in mind an indigenous rapid testing kit has been developed by the DRDO, which shall not only cut down the cost by one tenth of the existing WHO-approved kit, but also reduce the testing time from a day to 15-20 minutes. Moreover, it is not bulky and can be carried to the field or home for diagnosis.

    Informing the The Times of India about the latest development, Dr W Selvamurthy, chief controller, research and development, ministry of defence, DRDO, said, ?The kit has been sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Delhi, by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for validation. It shall be available
    in the market after the transfer of technology by the ICMR. It took us just six months for the kit?s production.?

    Three months ago 10 indigenous companies had presented their rapid-testing kits to the ICMR. Firms Auroprobe, Genomic Diagnostics and Ocimmum were found to be testing an effective kit with real samples. ?Only two of them have been sent for validation. With the DRDO also in the queue, we have more options for the approval,? VM Katoch, director general, ICMR, stated.

    Unlike the WHO kit, the DRDO one is based on real-time LAMP (Loop-mediated isothermal amplification) technique which reduces the testing time. Terming this development on a par with international kits as far as economy is concerned, Selvamurthy added, ?The polymerase-based WHO kit makes the testing less specific which requires more sophisticated tools also. Moreover, the cost of the DRDO kit is Rs 1,000 ($20) while that of the WHO kit is Rs 10,000. ($200)
    According to a ministry of health and family welfare update, till date 15,926 have been tested positive with the flu with 534 deaths reported across the country.
    Twitter: @RonanKelly13
    The views expressed are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other person or organization.

  • #2
    Re: Indian defence research develops H1N1 testing kit

    New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a swine flu testing kit that can diagnose the pandemic in just two hours and reduce the cost of a single test fivefold - to less than Rs.1,000.

    "This test kit can diagnose positive samples within two hours as against nearly a day as is the practice currently," Bhuvnesh Kumar, additional director of life sciences at DRDO, told IANS.

    Kumar said DRDO had already completed the required tests on over 500 subjects and given the kit to the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for its final approval.

    "We have got all positive results while testing over 500 samples over the last few months," he added.

    "We are using a new method called lamp technology in this test. It's an indigenous kit and different from the current kits approved by the World Health Organisation," said P.V.L Rao, director of virology at the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), a lab of DRDO in Gwalior.

    Rao said DRDO had done the tests on 500 samples at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), NIMHANS, Bangalore, Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital in Jaipur and PGI, Chandigarh. The data has already been presented to ICMR as it is the nodal authority on such issues.

    "The ICMR director general (V.M. Katoch) has been very cooperative and has shown a lot of interest in this kit. He asked us to test it on another 500 samples and we hope to complete it in a month," Rao told IANS from Gwalior.

    The virologist also hoped that "if everything goes well" the indigenous kit can be in the market within three months. "This test kit can conduct the swine flu test in less than Rs.1,000."

    Currently, the government claims it spends nearly Rs.10,000 for every swine flu test but some approved private labs do it for Rs.4,500 to Rs.5,000.

    Alka Chatterjee, another joint director at DRDO, said the kit does not really need high expertise labs to conduct the test. "Results can be seen in field conditions. This kit will give specific information. It is very user-friendly."

    India has lost over 1,325 lives due to H1N1 since the pandemic entered the country in May 2009. Nearly 30,000 people have been infected by the virus across India with Delhi reporting the maximum number of cases among states. While Maharashtra has reported over 350 casualties, Gujarat stands at number two with over 270 deaths. Rajasthan, Karnataka and Delhi are three other high casualty states.
    Twitter: @RonanKelly13
    The views expressed are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other person or organization.

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    • #3
      Re: Indian defence research develops H1N1 testing kit

      Indian flu kit better than WHO unit
      TNN, Mar 4, 2010, 03.10am IST

      BANGALORE: Scientists of the Defence Research & Development Organisation and Indian Council of Medical Research claim the H1N1 flu testing kit they have developed is more efficient than the one designed by the World Health Organisation.

      The Indian kit can analyze a sample within one hour and without Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, a laboratory technique. Interestingly, while the WHO kit cost Rs 8,000($160), the Indian one costs only Rs 1,000. ($20)

      At the 14th convocation ceremony of Nimhans here on Wednesday, Dr W Selvamurthy, chief controller, DRDO Research & Development, said: "The Indian flu kit will compete with the WHO kit as it is more efficient. Currently, technology is being transferred to Bigtech, a Bangalore-based pharma company. With the increase in demand, the technology will be shared with more companies."

      "We're awaiting the approval of the ICMR and Drug Controller General of India and it's likely to be launched within the next three months," he added.

      Union health & family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said: "A fallout of the H1N1 flu is that for the first time in India, we're producing the influenza vaccine. Human clinical trials are in process. Most funding is done by private pharmaceutical companies."

      In his inaugural address, the minister said: "In the recent budget, the National Rural Health programme allocation has increased from Rs 200 crore in the Tenth Plan to more than Rs 1,000 crore in the Eleventh Plan. Apart from infrastructure, our focus is to enhance human resources. This year, we've added 3000 post-graduate seats and next year, we'll increase it by 4000 seats in government colleges and 2,000 in private medical colleges. A major concern is shortage of mental health professionals; today, we have less than one psychiatrist for 4 lakh population."

      State minister for medical education Ramachandra Gowda said: "In India, 70 million people suffer from mental health-related issues, 30 million suffer from neurological problems and 1 million succumb to head injuries. Unfortunately, youngsters in their early twenties are taking to alcohol and tobacco. So, the government is considering introducing yoga in school and college curricula."

      Dr Selvamurthy said: "There's a need to focus on prophylactic and preventive care. The recent health ministry decision on introducing a three-year Bachelor's degree in rural medicine and surgery should be appreciated."

      He added, "Secondly, like in China, we should integrate allopathy and traditional systems of medicine in all hospitals. Yoga should be introduced in school and hospitals. Allopathy doctors should respect traditional and alternative systems."

      He recommended the government start a department of biomedical medical technology under the ministry of health & family welfare. "Every year Rs 15 crore is spent on importing medical equipment. This can be reduced by encouraging production of medical equipments domestically," he suggested.

      Recently, DRDO along with Nimhans and PSG College, Coimbatore, developed a critical care ventilator. While an imported ventilator costs Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, the indigenous ventilator costs less than Rs 4 lakh. The Karnataka government has ordered 50 units for government hospitals. Azad said district-level medical schools will be started and specialists from district hospital will be involved.

      On the delay in selecting a new Nimhans director, he said: "The search committee has received 14 applications. As a state representation came in late, the process was further delayed but it will take a decision soon."

      He also inaugurated the neurobiology research centre, college of nursing and ladies hostel for nursing students. The in-charge director Dr S K Shankar said: "During the past year, 4,11,945 patients were treated at Nimhans."

      At the convocation, 68 students were awarded degrees and 24 in absentia; eight students were given awards and medals.
      Scientists of the Defence Research & Development Organisation and Indian Council of Medical Research claim the H1N1 flu testing kit they have develope
      Twitter: @RonanKelly13
      The views expressed are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other person or organization.

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      • #4
        Re: Indian defence research develops H1N1 testing kit

        India advances fight against CBRN
        by Ted Purlain on March 15, 2010
        ShareThisIndia's Defense Research Development Organization has announced several major steps in the fight against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare.

        Dr. W. Selvamurthy, a DRDO distinguished scientists and chief controller of research and development in life sciences, announced the advances to the press at the Defense Food Research Laboratory.

        ?The DRDO has invented a ?Portable Gas Chromatograph? which can detect chemical warfare agents," Expressbuzz.com reported Selvamurthy as saying. "This has been converted into a three chemical paper which will be placed on the uniform and any change in colour will enable the soldiers to detect chemical contamination."

        The DRDO, Selvamurthy said, has also invented an antigen-based diagnostic kit to aid in the diagnosis of typhoid, leptospirosis, dengue, H1N1, malaria, plague, anthrax and other diseases.

        ?DRDO has developed a H1N1 kit which is much superior to the existing kits used worldwide," Selvamurthy said. "The kits used across the world cost $176, while the kit invented by DRDO would cost only $22. Using these kits, the detection of the H1N1 virus can be done within one hour while the normal kit would take around 10 to 12 hours."


        Newly invented Recce vehicles and remotely-operated vehicle Daksh will also aid in identifying chemically contaminated areas and removing any potential radiation source. Mobile decontamination vehicles have also recently been announced by the DRDO.
        Twitter: @RonanKelly13
        The views expressed are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other person or organization.

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