Detecting Omicron in 4hrs: India’s research council approves test kit

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a testing kit for detecting the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 which will give the result in four hours, obviating the need for time-consuming genome sequencing.

The Omicron-detecting RTPCR kit, manufactured by Tata Medical and Diagnostics in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has also been approved by Drug Controller General of India. This test kit will give results in 4 hours, Balram Bhargava, DG of ICMR told reporters in New Delhi today.

The test kit is compatible with all standard real-time PCR Machines.

Ravi Vasanthapuram, the head of the research and development of TATA MD, said "This kit can detect the Omicron variant as well as other variants of SARS-CoV2 reported so far. Currently, Omicron patients are detected only after genome sequencing. But this test can help eliminate that step and detection can be done during the testing."

The test run time of this kit is 85 minutes. The result turnaround time, including sample collection and RNA extraction, is 130 minutes, he added, reports our New Delhi Correspondent.

The clearance to the Omicron testing kit came on a day when India declared that the faster-spreading variant of Covid-19 has become the dominant strain replacing Delta.