COVID-19: This New Saline Gargle RT-PCR Test Claims To Give Result In Three Hours

Saline Gargle RT-PCR test: A constituent laboratory of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CISR) based in Nagpur has developed a fast and simple method of swab collection and processing for COVID-19. The test kit claims to provide result in just three hours.

Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) announced recently that they have developed a new and simpler method for RT-PCR tests for COVID-19 called the Saline Gargle RT-PCR test method.

In this test the patient gargles a saline solution and rinses it inside the provided tube. The sample inside the collection tube is then taken to a laboratory where it is kept at room temperature, in a special buffer solution prepared by NEERI.

An RNA template is produced when this solution is heated in the laboratory, which is further processed for Reverse transcription-polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). The Nagpur Municipal Corporation gave its permission to go ahead with the method, following which testing has begun at NEERI, said the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

According to the CISR, the newly developed method is “simple, fast, cost-effective, patient-friendly and comfortable”. Given the minimal infrastructure requirements of this method, it is also well suited for rural and tribal areas.

Krishna Khairnar, a senior scientist Environmental Virology Cell at NEERI, said the current swab collection method requires time and has a chance that it may even get lost in the transport to the collection center. Moreover, it is an invasive technique that can be uncomfortable.

“The Saline Gargle RT-PCR method is instant, comfortable, and patient-friendly. Sampling is done instantly and results will be generated within three hours," the senior scientist said. Khairnar added that the method is non-invasive enough that patients can comfortably collect the sample by themselves.

While collection methods like nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs require technical expertise and careful administration, they are also highly time-consuming. In contrast, the new Saline Gargle RT-PCR method uses a simple collection tube filled with a saline solution which proves itself to be convenient and patient-friendly.

Khairnar also said that this particular method of collecting and processing the sample is environmentally friendly since waste generation is minimised. It also works to save on the costly infrastructural requirement of RNA extraction.

Earlier on May 19, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also issued an advisory with a set of instructions for COVID-19 self-testing at homes using the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kit. The IMCR provided instructions and demonstrations to be followed for patients who will be using the test kit. Read more on that here.

Image Credit: Scripps.org