Staff Reporter, Thimphu
With instances reported in the media about people testing negative first and later positive and vice-versa, several people have resorted to express their reservations on the efficiency and credibility of the testing kits used by the ministry of health. Clarifying this doubt, Technical Advisory Group (TAG) member Dr Sonam Wangchuk, used the Bhutan Broadcasting Service’s broadcast on February 4, 2022 and said that the test kits are fine.
Underlining that the old testing kits are still effective in detecting positive cases, Dr Sonam said that the kits have been procured from the Republic of South Korea after repeated enquiries, He said that the Korean Government has ascertained and guaranteed that the kits are effective in detecting not just the former delta variant but also omicron.
Concerning the efficiency of the antigen test as compared to the RT-PCR test, Dr Sonam said that the latter is indeed more effective. Nonetheless, he cautioned that despite the efficiency of the test kits, people who test negative once cannot be all assured that they will not test positive. He said that if people get symptoms of the virus they need to get tested repeatedly even if they have tested negative earlier.
Dr Sonam also explained the different guidelines that the government uses for the conduction of tests. He spoke about the four guidelines, which are the enhanced surveillance system, where frontline workers including Desuups and health workers are tested once a week; RT-PCR tests done for those who live the hospital; antigen tests for those living a little far and contact tracing.
He added that contact tracing is done for all primary contacts who have come in contact with a person affected by the virus.
Regarding cluster testing the doctor informed that it is done when a person from a household tests positive, especially when the source and time of the infection cannot be ascertained.
To find out if there are cases in the community or not, mass testing is done. He said that in small towns and rural villages, this test is done individually. However in towns like Thimphu, one person from every household is tested.
With instances reported in the media about people testing negative first and later positive and vice-versa, several people have resorted to express their reservations on the efficiency and credibility of the testing kits used by the ministry of health. Clarifying this doubt, Technical Advisory Group (TAG) member Dr Sonam Wangchuk, used the Bhutan Broadcasting Service’s broadcast on February 4, 2022 and said that the test kits are fine.
Underlining that the old testing kits are still effective in detecting positive cases, Dr Sonam said that the kits have been procured from the Republic of South Korea after repeated enquiries, He said that the Korean Government has ascertained and guaranteed that the kits are effective in detecting not just the former delta variant but also omicron.
Concerning the efficiency of the antigen test as compared to the RT-PCR test, Dr Sonam said that the latter is indeed more effective. Nonetheless, he cautioned that despite the efficiency of the test kits, people who test negative once cannot be all assured that they will not test positive. He said that if people get symptoms of the virus they need to get tested repeatedly even if they have tested negative earlier.
Dr Sonam also explained the different guidelines that the government uses for the conduction of tests. He spoke about the four guidelines, which are the enhanced surveillance system, where frontline workers including Desuups and health workers are tested once a week; RT-PCR tests done for those who live the hospital; antigen tests for those living a little far and contact tracing.
He added that contact tracing is done for all primary contacts who have come in contact with a person affected by the virus.
Regarding cluster testing the doctor informed that it is done when a person from a household tests positive, especially when the source and time of the infection cannot be ascertained.
To find out if there are cases in the community or not, mass testing is done. He said that in small towns and rural villages, this test is done individually. However in towns like Thimphu, one person from every household is tested.
