New Delhi: After the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) asked states to stop using rapid antibody blood test kits and return them to the two suppliers in China, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi hoped that India would communicate with the concerned firms based “on facts” and resolve the issue “reasonably and properly”.
On Monday, ICMR additional director general G.S. Totaja sent a letter to chief secretaries of states with the advice to stop using the rapid antibody test kits procured from Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhan Livzon Diagnostics. The reason given was that the results “have shown wide variation in their sensitivity despite early promise of good performance”.
States are advised to stop using these kits procured from the two companies (Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics kits) and return them to be sent back to the suppliers: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) #COVID19 https://t.co/aGgEOpibuN
— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2020
ICMR also proposed that state governments could attempt to return the test kits back to the suppliers.
In a late night statement, the Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Rong said, “We are deeply concerned with the evaluation results and the decision made by Indian Council of Medical Research.”
Stating that China attaches “great importance” to quality of exported medical products, she noted that the Chinese embassy had “maintained close contact with ICMR and the two Chinese companies to find out the real situation”.
She also asserted that it was “unfair and irresponsible for certain individuals to label Chinese products as “faulty” and look at issues with preemptive prejudice”.
Besides ICMR, the Indian government has not made any official statements about the quality issue of Chinese medical products. In fact, the Indian government has kept a measured tone, with New Delhi also not entirely supporting US President Donald Trump’s targeting of World Health Organisation for allegedly covering up China’s lack of transparency in the initial days of the infection last year. India had instead said that the matter could be revisited after the current crisis is over.
However, there has been several commentaries in the Indian media and other platforms that called for India to make China accountable for the origin of the pandemic.
Ji hoped that “the Indian side could respect China’s goodwill and sincerity, strengthen communication timely with relevant Chinese companies based on facts, and resolve it reasonably and properly”.
Also read: ICMR Purchased Rapid Test Kits at 145% of Landed Price, Delhi HC Case Reveals
Referring to the separate press releases issued by Wondfo and Livzon last week on the concerns, Ji reiterated that the test kits had obtained certification from National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA) and also been approved by ICMR through National Institute of Virology.
“The COVID-19 antibody rapid test kits produced by these two Chinese companies have been exported to and well recognised in many countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America,” she stated.
The statements from the Chinese firms had been issued after ICMR had told state governments to pause the usage of the rapid antibody test kits for two days while it examines the complaints.
Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech had supplied three lakh test kits, while Livzon diagnostics had provided 2.5 lakh kits to India.
The embassy spokesperson also pointed out that variation in test results could be a consequence of not following the “strict requirements” for use, storage and transportation of the kits. “Any operation which is not carried out by professionals in accordance with the product specifications will lead to the testing accuracy variations. ICMR also made it clear that rapid antibody test kits should only be used for surveillance purposes instead of replacing RT-PCR test to diagnose and confirm the cases, and States are advised to strictly abide by the methods and purpose of the usage according to ICMR’s clear instructions.”
Underlining that the fight against coronavirus pandemic requires a joint response, Ji also said that China has been sharing its experience and donated medical materials to India. “We will continue to support India’s efforts in fighting COVID-19, strengthen medical and health cooperation, and jointly work with India to overcome the difficulties at an early date, so as to safeguard the safety and health of our peoples as well as global and regional public health security.”