KUALA LUMPUR, August 5 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has permitted private health facilities to screen low-risk people for Covid-19 through the antigen rapid test kit (RTK-Ag).
According to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, low-risk people consist of two categories: not a person-under-investigation (PUI) and people without a history of close contact with positive cases. These tests must be conducted in specific rooms or booths with good ventilation flow.
“The RTK-Ag is used as a point-of-care testing (POCT) screening test. RTK-Ag does not replace the Reverse Real-Time Polymerase Chain (rT-PCR) test’s diagnostic function for Covid-19, but has the advantage of detecting Covid-19 outbreaks quickly and in large numbers,” Dr Noor Hisham wrote in a July 13 letter to the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), the Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia (MPCAM), the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM), and the Malaysian Muslim Doctors Organisation (Perdim), as sighted by CodeBlue.
Antigen RTKs detect antigens, which are viral proteins expressed only when the virus is actively replicating, so tests based on antigen detection can identify acute or early infection. However, RTK has a much quicker turnaround time at just minutes, whereas the RT-PCR test takes 24 to 48 hours to yield results in the lab and costs much more.
The Malaysian Paediatric Association stated that PCR nasal swab tests to detect SARS-Cov-2, the virus which causes the Covid-19 disease, cost between RM380 and RM450 at drive-through laboratories.
The Medical Device Authority (MDA), an agency under MOH, has separately authorised three Covid-19 test kits — Liangrun (Lionrun) Diagnostic Kit by FELCRA Supplies and Services and by MyEG Services Liangrun, as well as SD Biosensor STANDARDTM Q Covid-19 Ag Test by Science Valley Sdn Bhd, according to MDA’s June 18 letter to MMA, as sighted by CodeBlue.
Stock: [MYEG]: MY E.G. SERVICES BHD
2020-08-05 12:30 | Report Abuse
KUALA LUMPUR, August 5 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has permitted private health facilities to screen low-risk people for Covid-19 through the antigen rapid test kit (RTK-Ag).
According to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, low-risk people consist of two categories: not a person-under-investigation (PUI) and people without a history of close contact with positive cases. These tests must be conducted in specific rooms or booths with good ventilation flow.
“The RTK-Ag is used as a point-of-care testing (POCT) screening test. RTK-Ag does not replace the Reverse Real-Time Polymerase Chain (rT-PCR) test’s diagnostic function for Covid-19, but has the advantage of detecting Covid-19 outbreaks quickly and in large numbers,” Dr Noor Hisham wrote in a July 13 letter to the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), the Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia (MPCAM), the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM), and the Malaysian Muslim Doctors Organisation (Perdim), as sighted by CodeBlue.
Antigen RTKs detect antigens, which are viral proteins expressed only when the virus is actively replicating, so tests based on antigen detection can identify acute or early infection. However, RTK has a much quicker turnaround time at just minutes, whereas the RT-PCR test takes 24 to 48 hours to yield results in the lab and costs much more.
The Malaysian Paediatric Association stated that PCR nasal swab tests to detect SARS-Cov-2, the virus which causes the Covid-19 disease, cost between RM380 and RM450 at drive-through laboratories.
The Medical Device Authority (MDA), an agency under MOH, has separately authorised three Covid-19 test kits — Liangrun (Lionrun) Diagnostic Kit by FELCRA Supplies and Services and by MyEG Services Liangrun, as well as SD Biosensor STANDARDTM Q Covid-19 Ag Test by Science Valley Sdn Bhd, according to MDA’s June 18 letter to MMA, as sighted by CodeBlue.