Two tests with a single kit!

The revelation that at least four government-approved laboratories in the country have been using one kit for testing two Covid-19 samples is alarming. The practice is not only unscientific and unethical but likely to give incorrect results, as health experts have said. Apparently, shortage of testing kits has prompted these labs to resort to this practice which seems to be carried out under the watch of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The officials of the labs conducting such tests are saying that they are using half of the reagent in the kit for testing each sample and are getting the same result as achieved with the use of one kit for one test. According to them, they have conducted such tests after Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute did a study on this new method and found positive results. However, the fact is that the study only had a sample size of 15 which they tested in three days. So, the question that naturally arises is, can such a major decision regarding Covid-19 test be taken by conducting a study with such a small sample size?

Also, why has the DGHS allowed such an unethical practice to go on? Last month when it was reported in the media that many laboratories could not conduct tests as per their capacity due to a shortage of testing kits, the DGHS outright rejected the claim and said that there was no shortage of testing kits, and that more kits would be imported soon. Now it is clear that their claim was not true at all. Otherwise, why would they not take any action against these labs and allow them to conduct two tests with one kit instead?

Bangladesh has already earned a bad reputation in the world for the fake Covid-19 tests conducted by some of its private hospitals. It is also one of the countries in the world that is conducting the lowest number of tests. And now we have come to know about this improper use of Covid-19 test kits. Needless to say, the consequences of this practice will be huge—it will be difficult for us to contain the spread of the virus through such unscientific practices; and it will also affect our national image.

Therefore, we urge the government to give strict directives to the laboratories to stick to the standard practice followed by the world in conducting Covid-19 tests. One kit should be used for one test and there is no scope of compromising the reagents. And since shortage of testing kits is the reason for such an unethical practice, the government should take immediate action to provide the required number of kits to all the laboratories concerned.