New COVID-19 rapid test a game changer for outreach areas of Sistan and Balouchestan Province, southeast of Iran

The widespread use of high-quality COVID 19 rapid testing in Islamic Republic of Iran can revolutionize the countrys response to COVID-19. The new, nationally produced antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests will help meet the huge testing needs across the country.

Report from: Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Vice Chancellery for Health
Published on: 3 January 2021

Coronaviruses are enveloped, single-strand RNA viruses known to cause respiratory illness in humans. In December 2019 a new coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China and this is now named SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), with the resulting illness known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The virus has spread rapidly and on March 11 2020, SARS-CoV-2 was declared a pandemic.

A real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay has been developed to rapidly detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (COVID-19). The real-time RT-PCR assay has been found to be more sensitive than a conventional RT-PCR assay or culture isolation and proved suitable to detect COVID-19 in clinical specimens. Application of this assay will aid in diagnosing COVID-19 infection.

Zahedan University of Medical Sciences Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Laboratory was set up following training provided by the Pasteur Institute of Iran, due to the availability of efficient specialist personnel and equipment, in less than a week after the detection of the first few COVID-19 cases in Islamic Republic of Iran.

For the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) response, COVID-19 antigen (Ag), and antibody (Ab) rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are expected to complement central molecular testing particularly in low-resource settings.

Iran, along with the United States, China, South Korea, and Britain, has achieved the advanced technology for manufacturing coronavirus antigen-based rapid detection kits in the world. The deployment of new antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests for the COVID 19 in Iran will significantly boost testing capacity and marks a game changer in the country’s fight against the disease, especially in remote areas.

The widespread use of high-quality COVID 19 rapid testing in Islamic Republic of Iran can revolutionize the country"s response to COVID-19. The new, nationally produced antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests will help meet the huge testing needs across the country.

Valuable experience is available from implementation of other disease-specific RDTs such as malaria RDTs in remote and border areas of Iran.

Deployment of COVID 19 rapid tests will allow health workers to undertake accurate, rapid testing for symptomatic patients, even in remote communities. By providing results quickly, the new test will enable frontline health workers to better manage cases by isolating patients to prevent further spread of the disease, especially in remote areas with limited access to PCR services.

Using these new rapid tests in contact tracing, and surveillance have resulted in detection of some cases in people living in remote rural areas, including those of inhabitants of Rig Malek, near Iran-Pakistan border, in Mirjaveh district, Iran.

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