Gonoshasthaya wants temp approval for its testing kits

The non-profit healthcare organisation also applied for a space somewhere around the capital's Dhanmondi to provide dialysis to kidney failure patients who have Covid-19 too.

There have been reports that patients suffering from kidney failure and Covid-19 have died without treatment because hospitals are reluctant to admit them, Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury said.

"Our own testing has found the kits accurate more than 90 percent of the time. But validation by the government is getting delayed. Therefore, we seek temporary approval so we can test the people who are failing to get tested and are dying," he told a press conference at Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital in Dhanmondi .

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) was supposed to issue a letter yesterday, asking for 200 Rapid Dot Blot kits, but Gonoshasthaya Kendra didn't receive the letter, he said.

"We don't know why that is," the veteran physician and a public health expert said, adding that it would be great if the government temporarily approved the kits.

"[With an approval] We could test the patients suffering from other diseases linked to kidney and heart and suggest the next course of action."

Treating kidney failure patients with Covid-19 would require a separate place which the Gonoshasthaya hospital does not have, he said, adding that the hospital provides dialysis to over 250 patients every day.

The hospital would set up two dialysis machines for kidney failure patients with coronavirus infection if there is a place available near Dhanmondi, he said. 

Authorities in the UK, USA and India have quickly approved home-grown rapid coronavirus testing kits, Zafrullah said.

"We expect our government to be prompt and to act considering the nature of emergency."

When Gonoshasthaya approached the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) for validation of their kit on April 26, DGDA asked it to go through contract research organisations (CROs). Gonoshasthaya, however, refused to do that, arguing that that process would raise the price of the kit.

On April 30, the DGDA permitted Gonoshasthaya Kendra to have their kits independently validated by the BSMMU. On May 2, the BSMMU formed a committee headed by virology professor Shahina Tabassum.

RT-PCR, which is widely considered the best coronavirus testing method, is being used in Bangladesh. But it is expensive and time-consuming. On the other hand, a rapid test is a low-cost alternative that takes about 15 minutes. Many countries are using these tests.